Hopes placed on Sri Lanka's new government under Anura Kumara Dissanayake mirror the promises of the 2015 "Good Governance" regime. For Tamils and the international community, only tangible actions can ensure this administration does not repeat the same cycle of impunity.
Tamil actor Vijay Joseph is arguably at the peak of his cinematic career. Aged 50 years old, the superstar is one of India’s highest-paid actors, starring in multiple films that are amongst the biggest grossing of all time and raking in millions of dollars every single year. That is what makes his decision to leave Kollywood behind and enter the murky world of Indian politics even more interesting. His attempt to blend Dravidian politics and Tamil nationalism has brought fans as well as critics. But it is his bold pledge to support a referendum for Eelam Tamils and demand Tamil Nadu have a greater say on foreign policy towards Sri Lanka that has caught the most attention. After decades of lacklustre support for Eelam Tamils, the entertainer-turned-politician may be setting the stage for a much-needed revival of solidarity.
Sri Lanka’s so-called “political earthquake” saw the election of a president from outside the traditional political elites for the first time. Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s election, while an obvious upset and challenge to the ruling elite, promises to maintain some of the more embedded, structural problems of the Sri Lankan state. The Tamil people’s scepticism of his party is apparent in the voting pattern in the North-East, as they largely voted for the Samagi Jana Balawegaya’s (SJB) Sajith Premadasa and the civil society-backed independent candidate Ariyanethiran Pakkiyaselvam. Both candidates were backed by political elites in the Tamil polity around the Ilankai Arasu Tamil Katchi (ITAK), the Democratic Tamil National Alliance (DTNA) and the Tamil Makkal Kootani (TMK), amidst bitter infighting between these former alliance partners. Muslims there also largely backed Premadasa, indicating that the North-East overall had no appetite to experiment with an unproven leader from a party with a chauvinist and violent history. However, some of Dissanayake’s moves since the elections, especially those aimed at reducing corruption, have garnered him some support, even amongst a usually cynical Tamil electorate. The bar after all is low – Tamil representatives are not able and Sinhala representatives are not willing to address deep-rooted issues.
Writing in the Hamilton Spectator, Gwynne Dyer, questions who is responsible for Sri Lanka’s dire economic and political status. Comparing Sri Lanka’s post-independence history to that of its south asian neighbours, Dyer notes that “none compares with Sri Lanka for sustained, large-scale violence across five decades”. Dyer notes that in addressing this question there are many contenders; “You could blame the Buddhist extremists of the majority Sinhalese population who led the first pogroms against the Tamil minority in 1958, or the Marxist insurrection that broke out in 1971 (30,000 dead) and...
Despite 38 Candidates running for the Sri Lankan Presidential election, the race will be ultimately decided between the major Sinhala-Buddhist candidates Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sajith Premada, Anura Dissanayake and Namal Rajapaksa. According to media predictions, it will be a close race between Ranil, Sajith and Anura. While all of these candidates have different support bases, not only inside of Sri Lanka but also from foreign actors, for the Tamil people in the North-East, every Sinhala-Buddhst candidate will mean a continuation of the Sri Lankan state’s denial of Tamil rights, such as accountability, justice and the call for self-determination of the Tamil homeland. Despite huge divisions among the Sinhala polity, all of the leading Sinhala-Buddhist candidates are united when it comes to protecting Sinhala-Buddhist majoritarianism. They have all vowed to protect the military and will continue to defend the Sri Lankan unitary state. Tamils know that they cannot democratically change a system that is fundamentally flawed by design. That is why the turnout from the Tamil homeland has always been amongst the lowest on the island since the first Presidential elections were held in 1982, a year before the anti-Tamil pogroms of Black July and the start of the armed conflict. To find a new path forward, Tamils need to collectively find a unified position to best represent the demands of the Tamil nation.
The case in opposition to a common Tamil candidate rests upon the assumption that incremental progress is possible under the Sinhala political framework. It is not. Tamils are better off with a candidate standing as a symbol of their defiance. It stands as a stark reminder to the international community that the Tamil issue cannot be swept over.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake spoke in Jaffna yesterday, as he addressed a rally ahead of elections later this month. "We are winning, " he said. "We will win by lakhs in the South." This sounds eerily familiar, even though it may or may not mean the same thing, given who said it. But, the implication is clear. We can, and will win this election with or without you. This sounds as ominous now as it did when Gotabaya said it in 2019. Worse in a sense, because unlike last time around, most of the "progressives" are either in the National People's Power (NPP) or ‘backing this horse’. God forbid we...
Rajavarothiam Sampanthan, a veteran figure of Tamil politics has passed away aged 91. He died whilst still in office, holding the post as the Member of Parliament for Trincomalee and a record as the oldest lawmaker on the island. Though his passing has drawn tributes from the West and politicians from across the Sinhala political spectrum, the reaction from Eelam Tamils in the North-East and in the diaspora has been much more muted. It reflects his tumultuous political life and legacy that he leaves behind.
“I will make my people ungovernable!” Rajavarothiam Sampanthan exclaimed, banging on the table.
Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, is a longtime supporter of the Tamil community. Under his leadership, the Liberal Democrats have called on the Conservative government to recognise the crimes committed against the Tamil people as a genocide and for those who committed these crimes to be held to account. He is clear: ‘We cannot end the search for justice.’ And I couldn't agree more. The Liberal Democrats have always battled for the rights of individuals against oppression. If elected I will be a passionate advocate for the Tamil community, both in Carshalton and in Parliament...