Sri Lankan President has set a good example to tighten belt to prepare for a post COVID-19 pandemic new world, having already promised to serve all Sri Lankans. To do that one has to put country before self, guided by their own religious teachings. Other political leaders in government need to follow the example set by their leader!
As a nation, the citizens of Sri Lanka have lost many opportunities to gain regional autonomy as prevailed in the country before arrival of their colonial masters. Thereafter following independence in 1948, due to the ignorance of then majority leaders the ethnic, economic and religious minorities were forced to stage many uprisings to address their disparities.
It was only with external interference a half backed devolution was introduced as the 13th Amendment into the constitution of the country in 1987. But it was never implemented properly by successive governments; as the result, the most antagonised Tamil speaking minorities in the North and East provinces are left with its own incompetence governments. As they are unable to accomplish anything with the powers granted due to negativity practiced on them by the rulers. With powers granted in 1987 getting diluted as years passed it was the ordinary citizens who are suffering today as the result.
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is blamed for this by all other political parties operating in these two provinces. Whereas they should have lifted them above party politics and arrived at a common plan of execution with TNA and stayed with it, come what may. Unfortunately, to date they never reached that higher understanding, which the TNA leadership with grey matters between their ears had desired.
The net result is today there are many splinter groups in both provinces, who don’t trust each other are living in the past in a dream world and fighting like cats and dogs, divided by culture, religion and cast. Of late these groups are divided further into smaller units among themselves. Yet, all credit to the TNA leadership, that has not allowed its supporters to sink to the level, that their oppornets wish to happen, to fight like cats and dogs among themselves!
For the TNA leadership has accepted the reality that the future of all Tamils is bound up with the fate of whole of Sri Lanka, so much so few parties in the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) coalition left the alliance, with other reasons. It is these smaller parties that are out of phase at present under the current situation. For only if all these politically separated fractions in the coalition work together as a group they could achieve their objectives!
Thus TNA as the representatives of the Tamils should strive to convince the Tamil speaking people, that they have the tools to manage themselves in the most inclusive, democratic and effective ways possible within a united country. Any delay is only because the leaders of the political parties ruling the country, without putting country ahead of politics and wanting to keep the conflict going for their own political gains.
In this scenario, the political parties in the Tamil National Alliance must make extra effort to change the status quo political situation. To that end TNA must work with all the other political parties of the Tamil people and that of the Tamil-speaking people to arrive at a democratic governance concept acceptable to all in the two provinces. It would enable everyone in the two provinces to do their creative work to benefit them and entire population in the two provinces. Possible, if all the representatives of the people in the two provinces unite in a non-violent moral struggle for the lost rights of all Tamil speaking minority communities!.
Northern Breeze 