Eastern elections that brought nothing to the people

May 14th, 2008

By Kusal Perera

The much pampered and wholly manipulated elections for the de-merged Eastern Province came to a close during the week end. The government insists it was a free and fair election and said so even during the voting. Statements made on behalf of the government says the victory it gained proves the people in the East have pinned their faith on democracy. JHU boss Champika says even the Tamil people have joined in defeating Eealm separatism. Thus the government would now want the South to bear all its corruption, mismanagement and plundering till the war is won in the North.

The opposition rejects the election almost in unison and cries foul. The JVP and the SLMC / UNP alliance said so from the start. The UNP and Rauf Hakeem came out very clearly in rejecting the results as totally rigged. Election monitoring groups kept pumping news of numerous incidents of thuggery, assault, vote rigging and stuffing all through the day the polling was on.The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) reported over 80 instances of severe rigging where they said voting would have to be cancelled and re-elections held in those booths. Lanka Polls Watch (LPW) claimed the elections had been so violent it does not reflect the people’s decision and therefore the whole election has to be declared null and void.

As for the quality of the elections held, the Opposition and the Election Monitoring groups are of the same mind, though PAFFREL would say the violence this time is a countinuation of election violence from all previous regimes. Granting it is so, the fact that this election was totally rigged does not in any way make any of those violations simple and pardonable. “So what now ?” is the most important question.

Now the Opposition could, if it is realy serious about rejecting the election results on the basis of violent rigging, publicly declare they would not accept the results and therefore decide not to take oaths and sit in the Provincial Councils. The argument is very simple and logical if argued as follows. The government promised a free and fair election. Though with very serious doubts, the Opposition decided to give the government a chance to prove its bona fide offer and therefore contested. Since the government went back on its promise and brutally suppressed the democratic right of the people in electing their own representatives, the Opposition decides to withdraw its participation in the PC. Thus the decision, not to take oaths and sit in the Council.

With such politics, the role of moitoring bodies too would fold up with a report or two and may be with a media conference that would provide many theoretical arguments. While all those heavy decisions are deliberated here in Colombo, what would happen to the people in the East ? Will their lives change for the better after the PC is established ? Will they get those powers as defined in the 13th Amendment and as promised by the government ?

On May 08th in the ‘Daily Mirror’ under the caption, ‘What makes free and fair different in the East’ I noted with much disgust that “Either way, Pillayan winning or losing, numbers of election related violence increasing or decreasing, elections being free and fair or heavily rigged, East will not have democracy under a PC that would any way have to maintain a heavy military presence to exist.” That most unfortunately seems the only option left now, after the elections. With Trincomalee becoming the provincial capital of the East, the LTTE proved it could penetrate Trinco’s most secured area with the sinking of the Navy ship within the harbour itself. There were also reports of artillery firing between the LTTE and the TMVP in the Verugal Aru area on the day of the elections. Thus it is clear the TMVP not only carries personal arms but has heavy weapons as well. It is also very imminent the TMVP PC members would now carry their arms and openly too as security for themselves. Most of them would have heavy presence of their own armed cadres with justifications that they need to have security in the face of LTTE threats. State security forces would have to maintain all the barricades, all search operations and all other security measures to help the PC function amidst LTTE ambushes and sporadic attacks. The threat of the LTTE, the presence of heavy military deployments and armed Pillayan cadres would continue without a change.

There is also the possibility of TMVP transferring the chief administrative functions of the PC to Batticaloa, as it is there they have a formidable armed presence. It would also mean, the opposition in the Eastern PC would not have the democratic right to do politics in any of the 03 districts, without arms. Yet it’s a fact the SLMC / UNP men are not made for such politics. They would thus lose any possibility of opposing the Pillyan rule in the PC.

Within that context that would certainly evolve, what relevance is there for the 13th Amendment and for its full implementation as promised by the President ? For sure, there is absolutely no chance for any devolution, even to the extent one sees in the South. Chief Minister of the NC Province, Bertie Premalal, wanted the people in the East to vote for the UPFA as that would give them the benefit of having President’s development projects in the East. It’s thus the President who would decide the course of development, depending on which way the PC goes. That would be how the 13th Amendment is to be fully implemented.

Again, just 03 days before the Eastern elections, 05 schools in the East were taken over by the central government through a gazette notification. Although the 13th Amendment does have provisions for such central government interventions, if the government is politically determined to devolve all powers available under the 13th Amendment, then the government would not take over institutions that are already under the provincial administration. That is not what the government would be doing. The government has already moved in with the Oluvil port development work. There is that much marketed “Negenahira Udanaya” [Awakenig of the East] and then “Maga Neguma and Gama Neguma” [Road and village improvement programmes] going East. All of them not only mean centralising whatever development the government is talking of, but also taking them under the Rajapaksa family. That simply is the petty mindset of Sinhala centralism.The JHU reacted immediately to the 13th Amendment proposal with their own opposition to devolution and said, “no police powers to the East and even land must not be devolved”. The JVP with their version of “Indian expansionism” wants the 13th Amendment proposal dropped from the APRC. The government would use all of it to prune the 13th Amendment and the way ahead is too conspicuous that it needs no forecasting.

Who would oppose such Sinhala centralism ? Not the Opposition for sure. The UNP that tries to safely avoid the issue of devolution would not want to campaign for the 13th Amendment. Right now the UNP is searching for escape routes to get back to a more Sinhala platform thinking they could also compete with the JHU and the government for Sinhala votes. In the East too they played for the Sinhala votes. Ravi Karunanayake’s stress on the D.S. Senanayake era as one who improved the East, was for the consumption of the Sinhala votes in the East. He little knew that it was this same DS who changed the demographic pattern in the East against Tamil representation. So was Ranil W’s last minute statement on the GSP+. He wanted to promote himself as the saviour of the Sinhala labour in the apparel industry, at the expense of all HR violations, for all those violations effect mostly the Tamil polity.

Therefore, in this society no political leadership would want the 13th Amendment implemented in full. Not even Pillayan who would only want power, which he has gained by joining the government and his project would have little or no relevance to the people in the East and their lives in a devolved province. For them, as before, it would be living under a gun and no power no matter who holds it above them. [dailymirror.lk]

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