Minorities will have to judge candidates by their track records

One of the disturbing features of the current presidential election campaign is the absence of rational discourse with regard to the issues surrounding the situation in the country. While a degree of politicking in the hustle and bustle of politics may be excused, the attempts to give a communal twist to some of the key concerns faced by the country, does not augur well for a nation struggling to determine its own destiny, within a democratic framework.

This pandering to emotive issues, which are continuously being harped on by hardliners and their supporters, does not sit well with a population that has earned a reputation for being politically astute, as shown by past records that have helped flag and keep alive the image of a vibrant democracy.

This issue has once again been sharply highlighted by the response to the demands put forward last week by the Tamil polity, in a Jaffna University students- sponsored initiative, designed to draw attention to grievances/aspirations/ concerns of the Tamil community.

The immediate response among the hardline southern organisations and politicians was an outright rejection of the demands, giving it an Eelamist label, in order to pre-empt any form of discussion on the larger issue of what needs to be done, to address Tamil grievances, as articulated by Tamil politicians.

The issue is not the contents of the demands put forward by the Tamil political parties, but the attitude displayed in addressing concerns articulated by a community, which is, after all, an integral part of the Sri Lanka nation.

The outright rejection of these demands, without even a suggestion of an alternative, is indicative of a “our way or the highway” attitude, which does not augur well for the minority communities in the country.

The demands put forward by the Tamil parties last week, are not new and have been discussed many times before. Some of the demands may not find favour even with reasonable sections of the Southern polity. And such demands can hardly be productively discussed and satisfactory conclusions arrived at in the middle of a hectic election campaign.

Both sides of the ethnic divide are guilty of creating situations that cannot be resolved easily. The demands put forward by the Tamil parties have been orchestrated by the Jaffna University students, who reflect a militant tendency, which is consistent with the views of the smaller Tamil parties and groupings.

What is surprising, however, is that, the more moderate Tamil National Alliance ( TNA) too, has been cajoled into signing this list of demands, probably not wanting to be outflanked by the more militant groups. The TNA, in fact, played a positive role in the deliberations of the Constitutional Assembly, and helped forge a great deal of consensus, which would have found great acceptance in the South.

The TNA clearly articulated their consent to give up their preferred demand for Federalism, if the two major parties in the South agreed to maximum devolution within a united, undivided and indivisible country. In fact, TNA Leader R. Sampanthan publicly pronounced that the armed struggle of the LTTE was a mistake, and expressed the hope that the Tamil community would not go down that path once again.

Unfortunately, the Constitutional Assembly could not complete its work, thus depriving the country the opportunity to find a solution that was acceptable to the Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim communities.

The demand for an international probe into war crimes and other human rights violations during the last days of the armed conflict, is also one that could have been prevented, if a credible domestic investigation could have commenced. It is unlikely that the Armed forces would have committed widespread war crimes, although it is in the nature of an armed conflict that there is always the possibility of isolated acts of human rights violations being committed by individual soldiers or groups of soldiers.

Once allegations are made, it is best they are investigated, to clear the name of the majority of the Armed Forces, as otherwise, these allegations will haunt even the most innocent of soldiers over the years.

Unfortunately, the Government of the day too, contributed to the allegations being levelled at the Armed Forces, by clearing the war zone of all independent personnel, including the Media, the United Nations and other NonGovernmental Organisations. This made the final days of the Armed conflict a war without witnesses.

If independent persons and organisa

What is surprising, however, is that, the more moderate Tamil National Alliance (TNA) too, has been cajoled into signing this list of demands, probably not wanting to be outflanked by the more militant groups.

tions had access to the war zones, during the closing days of the conflict, they would have been well positioned to address these allegations, which would have greatly helped to clear the air.

Rejecting outright such allegations against the armed forces, without an investigation, helps even mala fides accusations against innocent soldiers to gain some level of credence within the international community, and even among the Tamil community, some of whom may genuinely believe that the allegations are not being investigated, either because they are true or, because it is in relation to a community which perceives themselves to be marginalised and therefore, not worthy of respect.

The outright rejection of demands of the Tamil community, however misplaced or misconceived they may thought to be, without attempting to engage in a constructive dialogue over such demands, will only perpetuate the perception of second class citizens. This does not, of course, mean that such discussions or negotiations could be had in the middle of an election campaign.

The minorities will, therefore, have to take a decision on how to exercise their franchise, based on the thinking of the major parties, as reflected in the speeches of their spokesmen and supporters, as well as the track records of the Political parties sponsoring the Presidential candidates.