[lg policy] Sri Lanka elections: Will Tamil rights be upheld?

Thu Apr 1 16:49:19 UTC 2010

Sri Lanka elections: Will Tamil rights be upheld?

Parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka April 8 could mark progress for
the whole country – if the government ends discrimination and embraces
the rights of war-weary Tamils.

By Karunyan Arulanantham / April 1, 2010

Los Angeles
Last May, after more than a quarter century of civil war between
government forces and Tamil separatists, a fragile peace came to Sri
Lanka.

 Now, observers hope that parliamentary elections scheduled for April
8 can help unify the island nation. But if the government pursues the
same discriminatory tactics it used for The presidential election in
January, it will further alienate the island’s Tamil community and
diminish hopes for peace.  The presidential balloting was the first in
more than a quarter century that was not in the midst of a war. But it
was marred by the misuse of state resources to aid the ruling party’s
candidate, unfair coverage by the state media, poor transportation to
carry internally displaced Tamils to their voting places, problems
with Tamil voting IDs, and violence, according to independent election
monitors. Within days of the election, numerous advisers to defeated
opposition candidate Gen. Sarath Fonseka were arrested, and police
raided his campaign office. On Feb. 8, in a gross display of political
retaliation, Fonseka himself was arrested and accused of planning a
coup.

The official presidential election results, when broken down by
district, illustrate the deep polarization between Sri Lanka’s
Sinhalese and Tamil communities that fueled a 26-year civil war and
left about 100,000 dead. The island’s northern and eastern provinces
(the areas that Tamils consider their homeland) and other areas with
large Tamil-speaking populations overwhelmingly supported Fonseka.
Tamils (who make up roughly 20 percent of the population) were so
opposed to incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his brand of
Sinhalese nationalism that they embraced Fonseka by more than a 3-to-1
margin in most areas, even though he was the Army commander who
crushed the Tamil insurgency and killed its leaders during the May
2009 military campaign.

At the same time, election monitors reported that voter turnout in
some Tamil areas was less than 20 percent – underscoring the extreme
lack of faith Tamils have in a political system that has oppressed and
alienated them for generations. Low turnout also reflected official
government efforts to disenfranchise Tamil voters by refusing them the
right to return to their homes, denying them national identity cards,
and locking many of them in virtual concentration camps.The message in
the election numbers is clear and alarming, showing how fragile the
current situation could be if the disenfranchisement of the Tamils
does not end, and if they are not given a seat at the table.

Mr.Rajapaksa’s new government needs to reach out to the Tamil
community and repair the economic, personal, and physical wreckage
from nearly three decades of fighting. The Tamil community must be
reassured that they are safe on the island and can truly call it their
home. Even more important, the government of Sri Lanka must heed the
nearly unanimous demand of the international community to address the
underlying issues that gave birth to the conflict: equality for Tamils
under the law, particularly with regard to basic freedoms and human
rights. Paramount are the rights to free speech, freedom of movement
and a free press, all of which are essential to guaranteeing the
legitimacy of next week’s parliamentary elections and ensuring that
Tamils are stakeholders in the island’s democracy.

Beyond the balloting, there is growing recognition that Rajapaksa is
not taking the steps necessary for reconciliation between the island’s
different ethnic and religious groups. The government must end
politically motivated arrests and release the tens of thousands of
Tamil citizens, including women and children, who are incarcerated in
detention camps without charges.  The government and international
partners must focus development aid on war-ravaged Tamil communities,
which are in dire need of new schools, hospitals, and homes.
Infrastructure projects, economic and jobs programs, demining, and
demilitarization are vital.

It is imperative that the United States and other friends of Sri Lanka
press the newly reelected government to stop its blatant abuse of
power and end its attempts to engineer a ruling party victory in the
upcoming elections. International groups must send monitors to oversee
the voting and help ensure elections that are free of manipulation and
intimidation.

Tamils are weary of war and will work with a government that will give
them their due place on the island. The Rajapaksa government is
missing a moment to help propel Sri Lanka into a brighter future.

Peace-loving people everywhere can help this process by demanding free
and fair parliamentary elections on April 8, and by mobilizing support
for dramatic steps for reconciliation that can truly bring justice and
peace.

Karunyan Arulanantham, M.D., is a member of the Tamil American Peace
Initiative, a group of Tamil Americans formed to help bring lasting
peace, justice, democracy, and good governance to Sri Lanka, and to
focus attention on the destruction of Tamil communities and culture
caused by the war.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2010/0401/Sri-Lanka-elections-Will-Tamil-rights-be-upheld

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