As predicted by DAMARU SURVEY wanni, eastern province
Colombo and the pariahs with the west to harass the Sinhalese
read ON
Exit Fonseka seats Rajapakse firm
The incoming results of the Sri Lankan elections clearly point the exit of
Sarath Fonseka from the political arena. Exit literal, as suggested by the news
reported in
Srilankagaurdian that “the Defence Secretary Gotabaya
Rajapakse has given instructions to the Army Commander Jagath Jayasooriya to
arrest the opposition candidate Sarath Fonseka and his family members immediately
upon most of the election results are announced.”
The
incoming ballot results also make it clear that Rajapakse will emerge with a
neat majority. With a 70 % over all turn out, polling reported ‘mostly peaceful
with minor incidents of violence’, Rajapakse can once again claim with self
assured arrogance that he has the mandate of the people. But in
Sri Lanka the
word “people” has a single denotation - the Sinhalese. People other than
Sinhalese, the minority sections - Tamils and Muslims are bare humans, close to
the primitive barbarian (Veddas are an invisible category).
The pattern of voting also confirms the vast support that Rajapakse enjoys
with the Southern rural masses and would further boost his self projected image
of ’spurting from the roots’. But the “roots” that Rajapakse projects has been
cultivated chauvinistic for almost a century - beginning from the late decades
of the 19th century - is the message that has not reached beyond academic
circles.
The triumph of Rajapakse is nothing but the assertion of this chauvinistic
culture deeply rooted in the polity of
Sri Lanka. The ease with which the
Tamils in the north were made to stay away from the ballot box through ‘warning
signals’ - bombings and attacks on the offices of the main Tamil opposition
party the TNA, on the day of polling simply asserts the sheer arrogance of that
culture. The low turning of votes - a mere 20% in the Tamil areas highlight the
fact that the Tamils are in no mood to take any risks to antagonize this
chauvinistic - majoritarian arrogance.
That the Tamils are in what the sociologists call “a sieged menality” is
confirmed by the report in
The
National: ”There were all kinds of intimidation [in Jaffna], which
scared off voters, including the firing of shells from an army camp,” VT
Sivalingam, a lawyer, said by telephone from Jaffna, about 400km north of
Colombo. Mr Sivalingam, as well as a number of journalists in the area who
spoke on condition of anonymity, said bombs, grenades and firecrackers had been
set off to scare away voters.” The veil of anonymity is the only avenue
to voice opinions - forget dissent, not only for Tamils but to the Muslims and
other marginalized sections. It is a brute fact of the polity of the island
nation.
But in spite of the matter of fact ground reality leaking in through the
only available channel - the internet, the Indian media, which relies mostly on
the same medium to report on the Sri Lankan events have chosen to focus on one
single point: that Fonseka is not even a registered voter. In the days to come,
it might ‘enlighten’ the Indian readers, with an ‘analysis’ of Sri Lankan
elections, concluding that this fact turned against the contender in the final
hours. And the influence exerted by the Indian interests in the Sri Lankan
elections would as usual remain an untold story.
The long trajectory of the factor of “Indian interests” meddling in Sri Lankan
affairs would take volumes to narrate and certainly the pages of journalism is
not suited to the task. However, to bring the point to attention with reference
to current events, let me point to the direct involvement of an Indian firm in
deciding - to be on the safe side, predicting the outcome of Sri Lankan
elections that has surface belatedly. The credit goes to the online edition of
The New Indian Express -
expressbuzz, which reports that, “An Indian firm
specialising in political surveys, predicts that the incumbent President,
Mahinda Rajapaksa, will win the Sri Lankan Presidential election on Tuesday by
a small margin.”
It seems that the Delhi based firm “Viplav Communications” was ‘invited’ by
the Sri Lankan government to conduct a survey on the outcome of the elections,
and the firm after a month long research had concluded that Rajapakse would
emerge victor with a clear 12% margin. But what deserves attention than the
exactitude of the prediction is another minor point - the dismal by the
spokesperson of the firm about reports that they done an advertising campaign
for the President. “We don’t do any advertising” the spokesperson categorically
rejects.
A cursory glance of the
official
site however leads to an article published in the
Open
Magazine lauding the innovative efforts of the firm in the successful
election campaign of the Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in the last
elections. The article narrates the strategy employed by the firm in
reaching out the voters through mobile phones in what is termed as an
“e-campaign”, after conducting a survey for Naveen Patnaik that predicted
positive if he broke the alliance with BJP. The strategy of the firm is clear:
conducting a survey for a client, elaborate a strategy for victory, and take on
the campaign on the strategy elaborated.
The firm outlines its strategy of using the new media in campaigning in its
page: “1 million (10 Lac) Voters can be reached in one day and relayed a
message from the leader on festivals like Diwali or occasions like elections.
The message can be a Voice Call or an SMS sent through www.supercaller.in”. It
also boasts of devising the state of the art technology - a new software in
eliminating “human errors” in the process of a ’scientific survey’.
Given such open declarations of it’s involvement in conducting surveys,
devising strategies, and taking on a successful campaign, the rebuttal of the
firm’s involvement in the advertisement campaign boosting Rajapakse’s image in
the Sri Lankan elections seems to be utmost preposterous.
The involvement of a a not much known firm in Sri Lankan affairs is only a
tip of the iceberg that has emerged. It remains to be seen, in the future, the
exposure of Indian diplomatic efforts, meddling in the internal affairs of the
island, which is extremely destructive both to the democratic interests of the
minorities and to the liberation of the Sinhalese masses from the clutches of
chauvinistic attitudes.
President Maithripala Sirisena greets US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Nisha Biswal, who called on him during her official visit to Colombo last week. (Pic by Sudath Silva)
Aug 30 (CG) Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) led by Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam says it stands for a solution based on Two-Nations in One Country in order to resolve the issues faced by the Tamils. In a statement with regards to the position of the TNPF on the political solution and on accountability, Ponnambalam said the TNPF stands for a solution where Sri Lanka is recognized as a country which comprises of more..
Aug 31 (SO) TNA which received an overwhelming mandate from the North-East Tamils in the Aug 17 general election, securing 16 seats, will work simultaneously to reach a political settlement to the Tamil national problem while addressing the daily needs of the people, M.A. Sumanthiran MP said. He said the TNA will seek maximum devolution of powers on par with a federal system of governance within a united SL by more
Aug 31 (CT) TNA newly appointed National List female parliamentarian Shanthi Sriskandharaja contested on the ITAK ticket from the Vanni District in the general election, but was not elected. Sriskandaraja said she will speak on behalf of all women in the North in Parliament to ensure their safety. "We don't want another Vithya in Punguduthivu to be victimized. I feel there is less security for females in Northern Province," more.
Aug 31 (Hindu) Leaders representing three constituents of the TNA on Sunday rejected the stand of the U.S., which favoured a domestic investigation mechanism on alleged crimes during the final stages of the Eelam War. Leaders of TELO, EPRLF and PLOTE, who met for four hours in Colombo, felt that justice would be possible only through an international probe. M.K. Shivajilingam, TELO’s national organiser, said three parties more..
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) said today there was some doubt about former Auditor General Sarathchandra Mayadunne accepting his appointment to parliament from the JVP national list after he expressed reservations about it.
