( A Review of Sinhala, Tamil, and English newspaper reports that focus on the discourses and opinions emerging on political stages in the north and south about the demands and rights of marginalised communities, including the people of the north, east, and the country’s plantation sector. This article is based on a sample of newspaper reports that were published between 8 and 14 October in the three languages.)
North- and south-based newspaper reports on confusion in Tamil political sphere and new govt.’s rejection of latest UNHRC session’s proposals
Over the last week, the political climate in the north and south heated up due to developments pertaining to the preparation of candidate lists by parties and independent groups contesting the general election. It was a week where north- and south-based newspaper pages were filled with reports on the emergence of new candidates through new alliances or independent groups, disappointments caused by the loss of candidacy, and prominent figures who had remained in politics for a long time leaving politics due to various reasons.
With the commencement of preparation of candidates’ list, a tense situation began building up in the northern Tamil political space, and this situation morphed into an intense crisis mainly due to Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi’s (ITAK) experienced leaders leaving the party.
At the same time, due to disharmony among Tamil parties, the majority of Tamils expecting a new political face while rejecting the traditional Tamil leadership, and Tamil parties contesting the general election separately, there is uncertainty in the Tamil political sphere as to whether Tamil parties would be able to get a mandate that is powerful enough to have an influence. During the past week, Tamil newspaper reports clearly showed the existence of such confusion and also the fear of a political decline due to disharmony among Tamil politicians.
North- and south-based newspapers’ take on uncertainty prevailing in Tamil politics
During the past week, the crisis that has arisen in the ITAK had been reported in various ways by almost all Tamil newspapers.
On 8 October, the lead story of the Kalaikathir newspaper said that ITAK Leader Mavai Senathirajah had announced his resignation from all party responsibilities. The news report further said that the late Member of Parliament (MP) Nadaraja Raviraj’s wife Sasikala Raviraj decided to leave the ITAK and contest for the Jaffna district from the Democratic Tamil National Alliance (DTNA), because her name was not included in the ITAK’s candidates’ list. Even though the report said that the reason for Senathirajah’s decision was not clearly mentioned in his announcement, the reason for Raviraj’s decision was extensively described. It was the disappointment caused by former MP and President’s Counsel (PC) M.A. Sumanthiran’s arbitrary conduct including when it comes to the party’s affairs. On the same day, the Pudiya Sudanthiran newspaper had on its front page reported that Raviraj had left the ITAK and joined the DTNA.
Moreover, on the same day, the Eelanaadu newspaper had published a front-page article about Senathirajah’s decision to withdraw from ITAK’s responsibilities. According to the article, the select committee tasked with selecting candidates for the general election having been appointed without Senathirajah’s knowledge was the most immediate reason for that decision. The article stated that Senathirajah had resigned from the party leader position because Sumanthiran started to dominate the group. At the same time, the letter submitted by Senathirajah read that Sivagnanam Shritharan, who won in the party’s internal election, or Senior Vice President C.V.K. Sivagnanam, should take over party leadership after him. On 8 October, articles with similar content had been published in the Thinakaran, Thinakkural, and Thamilan newspapers. (According to the letter sent by Senathirajah to Shritharan, it was Shritharan who was requested to accept the party leadership).
Most newspaper articles that reported Senathirajah’s resignation from the ITAK leadership contained parts which were critical of Party Media Spokesperson and former MP Sumanthiran’s conduct. A report published on the third page of the Kaleimurasu newspaper on 8 October said that Sumanthiran was running a dictatorial regime within the ITAK and that it is according to his wishes that females have been included in the candidates’ list. A more extensive report regarding the matter had been published on the ninth page of the Thinakkural newspaper on 9 October. According to this report, female members of the ITAK have expressed disapproval of the decision taken to select females for the upcoming parliamentary election, and it had further criticized Sumanthiran’s conduct.
Amidst these newspaper reports that express disapproval of Sumanthiran, articles published in the Kaleimurasu and Eelanaadu newspapers on 8 October had emphasised that Senathirajah, who stepped down from party leadership, wrote to Shritharan asking him to accept the party leader position. It clearly shows that ITAK leadership condemns Sumandiran’s current conduct, and also that Senathirajah fears that Sumanthiran would become the party leader.
Although it is possible to get a clear understanding of the crisis prevailing in the ITAK through north-based Tamil newspapers, reports published by south-based Sinhala and English newspapers had diluted the situation. South-based newspapers had reported developments such as Senathirajah’s resignation and his request that the party leader position be given to Shritharan. However, most of these reports did not point out Sumanthiran’s conduct. Two articles published in the Mawbima newspaper contained criticism of Sumanthiran’s political conduct. However, articles published by that newspaper on 8 and 11 October discussing ITAK’s internal crisis had briefly reported that the reason for the crisis was Sumanthiran’s arbitrary conduct.
On 15 October, the Dinamina and Daily Mirror newspapers had reported that Senathirajah had resigned from party positions. However, unlike Tamil newspapers, these newspapers had not pointed out at least briefly that the reason for that decision was Sumanthiran’s conduct. On 13 October, the Mawbima newspaper had published a front-page article with the headline ‘Tamil people are in danger due to leaders’ factionalism’. It quoted ITAK member Shritharan as saying that Tamil parties have lost harmony rendering them unable to win the aspirations of the Tamil people. Even that article did not mention anything about Sumanthiran’s improper conduct which had been pointed out by Tamil newspapers. When reviewing north-based Tamil newspapers, it is evident that Sumanthiran, who has gained popularity in southern politics, is not a very popular leader in Tamil politics. This situation raises questions as to whether Sumanthiran is a Tamil politician who engages in politics as per the wishes of mainstream southern politicians, and whether he truly appears for the aspirations of the Tamil people of the north.
In addition to reporting ITAK’s internal conflicts, last week, Tamil newspapers paid attention to another special matter. With the results of the recent presidential election, public outcry emerged across the country against corrupt, traditional elite politics. As a result, Tamil people, especially the youth community, began to reject traditional, corrupt politics. In this context, many Tamil newspaper reports expressed fears and concerns about the future of Tamil politics, which is on the decline owing to the Tamil society’s demand for a different face of politics, existing political culture’s inability to address the aspirations of the Tamil youth, and ideological conflicts and discord among Tamil political parties.
On 8 October, the Eelanaadu newspaper had, on its fourth page, published an opinion piece with the headline ‘Elders in politics’. It basically said that although Tamil politics needs nationalism, it should proceed with new approaches. It further said that in such a context, since the people do not like the politics of veterans who are already in politics, they should give space to newcomers and a new political approach.
In the context of the general election, it was noted that Tamil political parties should work together in harmony for it makes it possible to create a strong force that can take a stand for the aspirations of the Tamil people. However, there is no such harmony among Tamil political parties. Newspaper reports aptly shows the concerns surrounding the same.
“Harmony among the parties appearing for Tamil nationalism is extremely important. It should be remembered that harmony among those parties should be based on principles, and not on the names of alliances formed to win elections. It has been stressed that harmony between parties is the only way to win elections. In the run-up to the election, strong disharmony has emerged between parties due to their fight to win seats. This time, people should vote wisely for the political parties that work for Tamil people’s rights, and not for positions,” an opinion piece, published on the fourth page of the Kaleikathir newspaper on 8 October, read.
On 10 October, the Kaleikathir newspaper’s front page reported a comment made by former MP and Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO) General Secretary Govindan Karunakaram. He had alleged that Tamil political parties have abandoned their political objectives, and are engaged in election campaigns in the north for their own benefit.
On 13 October, the Thinakkaran newspaper had, on its eighth page, published a news report on disharmony among Tamil political parties. Its headline was, ‘Tamil parties divided and scattered due to the inability to unite as one’. The news report had stated that the Tamil people will teach selfish political parties a proper lesson this time, as these parties are working to achieve their own objectives.
Even though Tamil newspapers had published many news reports expressing concerns about the crisis in Tamil politics, south-based Sinhala and English newspapers had not paid much attention to that situation and had not gone beyond merely reporting various incidents occurring in the northern political sphere. That is because, changing political camps for one’s own benefit, divisions within political parties, and forming alliances to gain power and not to fulfil the people’s interests, are not new incidents to southern politics. This could be the reason why south-based media is not very sensitive about such developments in northern politics.
What is more, even though Tamil people’s votes have a considerable influence in a presidential election, when it comes to a general election aimed at electing public representatives at the district level, the southern Sinhalese society does not care much about who Tamil people vote for. That could also be a reason why south-based media fail to notice this sort of news.
New govt.’s rejection of UNHRC resolution regarding Sri Lanka
Many Tamil newspapers that were reviewed on 9 October had not forgotten to report one incident and they had published it on the front page. That is, the new government following in the footsteps of the previous governments and rejecting the resolution presented by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) concerning Sri Lanka. These news reports said that the government had decided to continue to oppose the UNHRC’s 51/1 resolution and not to agree to any proposal that seeks to expand the powers of the external evidence gathering mechanism. Moreover, these reports said that despite the decision to reject the resolution, Sri Lanka is determined to take action with regard to human rights issues including reconciliation related matters through a domestic mechanism. On 9 October, news reports with similar content had been published on the front pages of the Kaleikathir, Eelanaadu, Tamil Mirror, and Thinakkural newspapers.
Several Tamil newspapers had gone beyond merely reporting the government’s rejection of the UNHRC resolution which seeks to uphold human rights in entire Sri Lanka, and had published opinion pieces focusing on the Tamil people’s views regarding the matter.
This is the summary of an article published by the Kaleikathir newspaper on its fourth page: “Due to the prevailing displeasure among the Tamil people about the fake nationalist and corrupt politics in the north, Tamil youths of the north and east believed in the National People’s Power (NPP). However, the new government’s decision regarding human rights violations, which is similar to previous governments’ decision, damages that trust. The Tamil people cannot expect independent and credible investigations under a NPP government, because when it comes to the issues faced by the Tamil people, the new government is following in the footsteps of previous governments.”
On 9 October, the Eelanaadu newspaper had published a related article on its fourth page, and its headline was ‘Justice from Anura’. The article criticized the political roots of President Dissanayake, and said that the government’s statement that it would support the addressing of human rights issues through a domestic mechanism is tantamount to the foreign policy employed by the Rajapaksa government. It further said that in such a context, the Tamil people cannot expect justice from the new government led by President Dissanayake.
On 10 and 11 October, only the Daily News, Dinamina, and The Island newspapers had published articles about the government’s rejection of the UNHRC resolutions. In addition to reporting this incident as breaking news, the three articles’ content had been presented in a manner that seeks to justify the reasons that led to the government’s decision. The three articles essentially said that the rule of law, transparency, accountability, and harmony will prevail in the country after the next general election, and that Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the UN Office in Geneva, Himalee Arunatilaka, had stated that the new government will protect human rights and democracy through a domestic mechanism that focuses on reconciliation, accountability, and justice.
Amidst dramatic events emerging in the run-up to a general election, this incident may not constitute important news to the southern reader, and perhaps that is why only three south-based newspapers found it newsworthy. However, this development is crucial when it comes to serving justice for the Tamil people of the north and east who faced a massive genocide. Only a handful of south-based Sinhala and English newspapers had reported it even as a mere news story and had also attempted to justify the government’s decision – that is only as a response to the opposition arising from the northern Tamil society.
Subhashini Chathurika
