Southern or secular mainstream national parties have never fared well at elections in the North, except for the period when the Sri Lanka Freedom party (SLFP) led by Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike scored heavily due to the Jaffna farmers’ support for her import restrictions on food items grown in the Jaffna peninsula. Since then, especially after the war flared up in 1983, no mainstream political party has made much headway electorally in the North and even in the East, where the war was much less intense.
While peace has prevailed in the entire country after the conflict ended in 2009, communalist Tamil and Muslim parties ruled the roost at all elections in both regions. Mainstream parties such as the United National Party (UNP), Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and the SLFP faced an uphill battle to win the votes of the Tamil-speaking people in the North and the East.
But just as the voters in the South got fed up with the main parties that had governed the country since Independence in 1948 due to unbridled corruption, economic mismanagement and bad governance, the voters in the North and the East too realised that they had been taken for a ride by these extremist communalist parties that ostensibly “championed” their rights.
Hence, in the National People’s Power (NPP), they perceived a truly different party that eschewed communalism, extremism and pseudo-patriotism. The NPP thus received a stunning mandate especially from the voters in the North, along with a strong showing in the East. In the minds of the Northern voters, here was a party that was truly committed to resolving the national question and a myriad of other issues affecting the North.
This overwhelming mandate was reinforced during President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s official visit to Jaffna over the weekend for the Jaffna District Coordinating Committee (DCC) meetings, where he received a warm welcome from Jaffna politicians, officials and the public. President Dissanayake said that there indeed was a notion that the Government in Colombo served only the South and it may indeed have been so in the eyes of the Northern community. But that is no longer the case, he said.
The President lost no time in setting the ball rolling, announcing Industrial Zones in Paranthan, Mankulam and Kankesanthurai (KKS), release of most lands acquired by the Security Forces to their rightful owners and more opportunities for the Jaffna youth to join the Police and the Armed Forces. The latter proposal is most welcome, as there is a dearth of Tamil-speaking personnel at police stations in the North and the East. This gives a hard time to Tamil-speaking persons who visit the police stations to make complaints as there is often no one who can write down/translate the same. The return of land should also be expedited, as de-mining is almost 100 percent completed.
The President also said that the President’s House in Jaffna, built by a former President, will be released for a suitable project. This was a wasteful and unnecessary building, because there are a couple of very good hotels with Presidential suites in Jaffna where a President can stay for a few days while visiting Jaffna, whereas a President’s House has to be staffed and maintained throughout the year, regardless of whether the President stays there or not. The electricity and water bills alone would have run into millions of rupees, which the taxpayers have to pay.
The Government has also pledged to upgrade the roads and the public transport systems in the North, which have been mostly neglected post-2009. The good news is that trains are running again from Colombo to KKS from last night after track repairs, connecting the two cities in around five hours. It is also essential to extend the runway at the Jaffna International Airport (IATA Code JAF) in Palaly to accommodate larger regional jets such as the Airbus A320/321, Boeing 737 MAX and Embraer E175 so that flights to regional destinations such as Dubai, Singapore, Bangkok and Mumbai will be possible from JAF. The current ferry service from KKS to Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu (TN) should be expanded and the Talaimannar-Thoothukudi (Tuticorin) in TN ferry service should also be restarted.
In the context of the recent incident involving an Indian fishing vessel which had illegally crossed the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) into Sri Lankan waters, both India and Sri Lanka should expedite talks to resolve this issue amicably, possibly with the involvement of fisheries Associations in both countries. Poaching by foreign vessels has severely affected the livelihoods of the Northern fishermen, who only get a minimal catch after the aforementioned vessels harvest the bulk of it. This issue should not be dragged on any longer and a mutually acceptable solution is essential.
Last but not least, the Government, Tamil and Muslim parties, all other political parties and Civil Society organisations must work towards resolving the national question and bringing lasting peace, as we mark the 77th anniversary of Independence on February 4. Winning a war is often not difficult, but achieving peace is. In this endeavour, we will have to come to terms with the past and work with the International Community to address their concerns regarding human rights and accountability. Some difficult questions will have to be answered in the quest for lasting peace.
As we mark Independence Day, the challenge of forging a truly Sri Lankan identity still remains. For far too long, we have been divided along ethnic and religious lines, which also resulted in a protracted war that ravaged the North and the East and also affected the rest of the country. If we fail to address the genuine concerns of the minority communities, history might repeat itself. The time has come to work for unity in earnest.
