Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

15 September  2020

 

 

Is Tamil Nationalism getting Defeated ?

I feel that there is something wrong in the Tamil political structure but I am yet to see the full picture in my brain. Political structures are most important where majority are driven by belief, habit and immediate emotional outcomes than by intellectual assessment of rights and wrongs through a common measure. This I feel has resulted in loss of heritage of communal nationalism in Southern Sri Lanka as well as in Northern Sri Lanka. The manifestation has already happened in Southern Sri Lanka through the two main traditional political parties – the SLFP and the UNP being sent to Aged-care  facilities by their respective heirs. In North, we are continuing to show our culture of children looking after the physical needs of parents in return for the parents sharing their wisdom with young ones in an extended family system. The latter comes usually from the Diaspora. The Tamil National Alliance is struggling between aged parents who continue to be active in Administration and adult children who are struggling with identity crisis – not knowing whether they are parallels of Gay, Heterosexuals or Bisexuals – meaning - attraction to Same culture, Opposite culture or both. Due to our active investment in the intellectual pathway, Tamils are clinging on to Hetero-culture which will produce healthy Sri Lankans through various pathways. Due to being pampered, Sinhalese Politicians have become Gay and many are parallels of Bisexuals. That is how we become the People we really are, rather than the ones we show ourselves to be.

In Sri Lanka we have the traditional avenue of Hetero-politics which produces natural children/heirs. But where politicians take the easy way out, once they are in power – they tend to forget the part played by opposite looking partner and rule as if they did it all by themselves. Then they produce children/heirs who are gay. That was how Sinhala Buddhist rulers  killed the two main parties that were born to  Hetero-culture rulers. Left to Tamil Nationalists Tamil-politicians also would have been ruled by gay-politicians. But the investment in Opposing within Common borders continues to prevent the Tamil Political community from becoming politically gay.

Yesterday I asked some Tamil Community media leaders:

[Would appreciate very much the knowledge as to which division within Jaffna District Mr Wigneswaran represents. This is necessary for me to construct my response. There are others here in Australia who also appreciate this alleged ‘fact’]

 

The confirmation came as follows:

[Mr Vickneswaran MP represents  Jaffna district. Tthe entire group of seven mps represent the 

the whole district. There is no division as such in the current system.]

 

Then I wrote:

[There are divisions such as below. Reporting was as per those below for primary votes which the voter understands:

KKS, Chavakachcheri, Jaffna, Kayts, Kilinochchi, Kopai, Manipai, Nallur, Point Pedro, Udupiddy, Vaddu. ]

Today I heard Mr Thavarasa – the leader of the Colombo branch of ITAK – the main party that upheld Tamil Nationalism politically,  accuse Mr Sumanthiran of being the reason why the votes of Nationalism supporters went to Mr Ponnambalam & Mr Wigneswaran and those of  Jaffna Tamils wanting ministerial positions went to Mr Angajan Ramanathan & Mr Douglas Devananda. I was impressed by the insight even though I disagree with the person being blamed. They say that we get the behaviour that we reward. ITAK as a whole was distracted by infighting and failed to educate the voters about the way the Multi-divisional voting system.

Articles 99(2) & 99 (4) of the Constitution state:

[(2) Every elector at an election of Members of Parliament shall, in addition to his vote, be entitled to indicate his preferences for not more than three candidates nominated by the same recognized political party or independent group.]

(4) Each elector whose name appears in the register of electors shall be entitled to only one vote notwithstanding that his name appears in the electoral register in more than one electoral district.]

If therefore a voter voted for ITAK in Chavakachcheri and then ticked Angajan Ramanathan as one of her/his preferred candidates – then it amounts to double voting. I find no mention of preventive measures to cover this danger. For example:

Every elector at an election of Members of Parliament shall, in addition to his vote, be entitled to indicate his preferences for not more than three candidates nominated by the same recognized political party or independent group; this party / group being the only one or the first one the elector voted for at Party / Group level.

Until today, I was puzzled as to how Postal votes were separately shown – as if they were a division. Now it makes sense that there is no identity as a division. Only the whole district  is taken as an electoral entity.

Hence in Jaffna Electorate Mr Angajan Ramanathan ranked as the most popular leader with 74% of those who voted for SLFP preferring him above others within the SLFP. He ranked 1st at electoral level  with 9.23% of the votes. But many reports ranked him as the 1^st in Jaffna Electorate which is misleading when one separates the candidate from the Party grouping.  

The ranking as percentage of overall votes is as follows:

1. Angajan Ramanadan – 9.23%

2. S. Shritharan – 9.10%

3. Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam – 8%

4. M. A. Sumanthiran – 7%

5. Douglas Devananda – 6%

6. C. V. Vigneswaran – 5%

 

The Policies as articulated by the above would represent their combined percentage approval where they are individuals and not representatives of their respective parties. Tamil Nationalism by Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam and by Mr C. V. Vigneswaran in Parliament therefore carries only 13% approval in Jaffna District. As opposed to that they as representatives of the two parties would have 23% approval for that claim claims in Jaffna District and TNA would have 29% approval of its presentation. This internal balancing is important not only for Jaffna district folks about themselves but also when such presentations are interpreted by Parliamentarians as if they represent the whole of North.

 

The Chavakachcheri mess happened due to habit driving supporters to conclude on divisional basis long after it was overridden by District basis. One Tamil responded that Mr Wigneswaran voted in Colombo. If this were true then he does not qualify to represent Jaffna through belief. His votes belong in the category driven by show of ‘immediate emotional outcomes’.

 

If there is no definition of ‘Division’ in the Constitution, there can be no Division based reporting of the Election outcomes. We ought to see only the results of lawful structure. According to Party basis – the ranking is:

 

1.     TNA

2.     TNPF led by AITC

3.     SLFP

4.     EPDP

5.     TMTK

 

This is what the People have shown us as per their understanding of the voting process. Whether that itself is just and fair – I have my doubts. Those driven by immediate outcomes are dividers. I feel that it was sprit of  - the Hon Raviraj of Chavakachcheri who was killed in duty and who grouped himself with TNA - who surfaced this weakness in the Election structure.