Hope for Change
In Sri Lanka, there is hope for a sweeping change in the political arena after the Presidential election was won by untainted NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Most Sri Lankans, especially Tamils have become weary of old dynastic politicians who either used ethnic hatred or violent means to win votes, did not fulfil promises and engaged in large scale corruption.
In a recent interview, Mr Dissanayake promised he would hold an investigation into the 2019 Easter bombings if elected as this is just one of many unfulfilled promises from Sri Lanka's political elite. "It's not just this investigation," he said, "politicians who promised to stop corruption have engaged in corruption; those who promised to create a debt-free Sri Lanka have only worsened the debt burden; people who promised to strengthen the law have broken it." Mr Dissanayake campaigned on this note as this is exactly why the people of this country want different leadership and argued we are the ones who can provide it.
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) spokesman MA Sumanthiran, said "Dissanayake delivered an impressive win without relying on racial or religious chauvinism." The Tamils who had lost hope on every President elected chose to vote for their own common presidential candidate to highlight their marginalisation.The new President has now announced parliamentary elections in the middle of November 2024. The District and Municipal elections etc are anticipated afterwards.
The Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchchi(ITAK) too has had their own leadership election recently, using the democratic voting system for the first time in their history. Mr. S. Sritharan was elected as its leader. The other contestants and the political party leaders from the south congratulated the new leader. He appears to have moderate views and promised to follow the party line which existed before the year 2009. He has hinted that he would be following the great ex-leader SJV Chelvanayagam QC meaning arguing for the Federal Solution for the Tamil Question. The new leader is preparing to hold out an olive branch and do business with the south. If a negotiated agreement can be reached with the Sinhala mainstream parties with the support of the Sinhala public, Tamil people will likely have a safe and secure land in which to live in peace and harmony with their Sinhalese neighbours.
In the south the political situation is more volatile and chaotic. As the ex-Tamil National Leader once said, the people in the south have short memories. The civil unrest to chase out the ex-president and the never-ending queues to get petrol and other essential items have been conveniently forgotten. The ministers who messed up the economy were there in the cabinet until last week as if nothing had happened! Even the deposed president is back in the island at large and enjoying all the privileges entitled to an ex-president.
Sri Lanka is one of the most beautiful islands in the world, blessed with fertile land and natural resources like tea, rubber, cocoa, coconut and fisheries. All these, along with tourist revenue, should be sufficient to fuel the economy if it is managed prudently. There is no need to borrow money in perpetuity from the IMF or any other country.
The question the voters should ask is where does the money go? Is it going into the treasury or siphoned into individual pockets? The time is ripe for change. The literacy rate among the population of Sri Lanka is high. An average voter will be able to discern the needs of the country. He or she should be able to eliminate the culprits who are chiefly concerned about their own benefit, those selfish politicians who are more interested in enhancing a fortune for their clan.
Given the current situation of the country, the country needs stateman like leaders who will think about the future generation as opposed to ordinary politicians who are always worried about the next election and amassing wealth. Since independence (1948), the leaders of the majority party in the south did not unite the country. Instead, they used racial hatred to win votes and from the start the Tamils were marginalised, oppressed, discriminated,and treated like second class citizens.
If there has been no change in the country's prosperity and racial harmony for the past 70 years by electing the 'Bandaranayake' clan and 'Rajapaksa' clan, a new vision is needed and root and branch changes are now in place with the election of the new leader AKD. Therefore, with the current President Anura Kumara Dissanayake who has been highlighting all the ills mentioned above during his election campaign along with the promise of change bringing an end to corruption, there is certainly hope for change!
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Tamil Writers Guild Editorial Board
London, U.K.
