WESTERN PROVINCE PROVINCIAL COUNCIL ELECTIONS
The second installment of Pluralism and supremacy has to give way to the western province provincial council elections. The United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) has won the western province provincial councils continuing with the string of victories it had in the previous provincial council elections including that of the eastern province. It is a victory not only for the UPFA but for the sovereignty of the country. The elections victory comes in the middle of the victories the armed forces are experiencing in Mullativu against the LTTE that still keeps a few thousand Tamils as hostages. The armed forces have been able to rescue more than hundred thousand Tamils altogether during the last few days amidst obstacles from various quarters including the western countries. The dispersed or Burgher Tamils in the western countries together with the support of the respective governments staged demonstrations against the Sri Lankan government under the pretext that the armed forces were killing innocent Tamils. However they never wanted to ask the LTTE terrorists and their terrorist leader to release the innocent people. The western governments wanted the Sri Lankan government to declare ceasefires so that the LTTE could enjoy a breathing space but it is to the credit of the President Rajapakse and the government that they did not give in to those demands and protected the sovereignty of the country. It is also reported that the USA wants the LTTE to surrender to a third party. This is nonsense of the worst order and it goes on to show how these powerful countries treat the other countries. They have no regard for the sovereignty of the "smaller" nations and their so called intellectuals will come out concepts such as R2P to invade the other countries in the guise of protecting human rights, democracy etc., that are not practiced in their countries. If the LTTE is to surrender it has to be to the Sri Lankan government and the armed forces and not to uncle Sams and aunty Dorothys who are anyway on the decline.
The resounding victory of the UPFA is an endorsement by the people of the policy of the Rajapakse government on humanitarian operations against the LTTE to liberate the innocent people who were trapped and also to retain the unitary state. The UPFA has a near two thirds majority in the western provincial council. It is mainly the policy on the operations against the LTTE that was put to the test at the elections and the people in the western province have overwhelmingly approved the policies of the government in this regard. In certain electorates the UPFA polled more than seventy percent of the vote. The elections could have been considered as a referendum on the government policy on the humanitarian operations in the northern province and the people have enthusiastically approved the relevant policy. The UPFA won all the electoral divisions in the Kalutara and Gampaha districts that includes what is referred to as the "Catholic Belt" in the Gampaha district. The UNP was able to win only the electorates within the Colombo Municipality limits indicating again that Colombo is not Sri Lanka. Many people from abroad including journalists politicians, diplomats come to know only Colombo even to a certain extent, and they go back with memories of discussions that they had in Colombo as if that represented a good cross section of the country. The country begins after one crosses the Colombo Municipality limits and the election results indicate how the country approves the policies of the government.
It is a fact that the majority of the people living within the Colombo Municipality limits are non Sinhala Buddhists in many ways. It is said that ethnically the majority of the people are Muslims. It is uncertain with the volatile Tamil population in Colombo whether they come second but in any event the Sinhala Buddhists living in the Colombo Municipality limits cannot exceed forty percent of the population. Even among the Sinhala Buddhists the percentage of the so called liberals produced by the educational system is more when compared with the other parts of the country. The majority of them who vote UNP are found in the Colombo west, Colombo east and Borella electorates together with some educated well to do Tamils in general. The Muslims, and the not so well to do Tamils are found generally in Colombo north and Colombo central.
It would be futile for the western powers to carry on with its anti Sinhala Buddhist propaganda when the armed forces have been able to prove to the world how humanitarian they have been not only in operations but also in treating the innocent Tamils who had been used as a human shield by the LTTE. It is heartening to note that even in Colombo Municipalty limits the UPFA has increased its vote among the Tamils and the Muslims, with the racist parties that contest under racist names such as the Muslim congress have lost some their votes in these electorates. The number of SLMC representatives in the Provincial council has been reduced albeit by one but when it has been reduced from four to three it reflects badly on the SLMC. If the government had anytime to organize an election among the people in the northern province, unlike the western oriented and western looking Tamils in Colombo, they too would have endorsed the policies of the government. While the racist parties have lost some of their supporters to the UPFA, the so called left parties such as that under the leadership of Dr. Vickramabahu Bandara Karunaratne have shown that they are representing not people of this country whether they be Sinhala, Tamil or Muslims but an imaginary set of people similar to the imaginary proletariat and the revolution named after that mythical class. Their self determination is not respected by anybody including the Tamils and it has been determined that self determination is not even a valid concept.
It is clear that the western countries and India are applying pressure on the Sri Lankan government to declare a ceasefire and that these forces have already got the LTTE to declare a unilateral ceasefire. If the government gives into the pressure that will only go against the wish of the majority of the people and likely to demoralize the armed forces.
Professor Nalin de Silva
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