North polls dissected

EVEN though the upcoming Northern Provincial Council elections are crucial to Sri Lanka’s international relations and indeed comes ahead of global posturing planned in the form of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), there are disturbing signs that the poll will bring with it regressive developments as well.

The restoration of democracy to the beleaguered north has been highly anticipated over the past four years. It was repeatedly focused on by the US as well as UN agencies and Tamil political parties as a long overdue right of the Tamil community and an essential facet in the reconciliation process. Even the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) in its landmark report called for the elections to be held as soon as possible to legitimise and entrench democracy in the once war-torn region.

Yet several other political parties, including the ruling one, now seem to regard this right as a “boon” of sorts for the Tamil community and have done little to repress coalition parties such as the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) from drafting documents that attempt to roll back the 13th Amendment. This lends credence to the rumours that have been floating around for several months, intimating that a 19th Amendment could be formulated to roll back powers of provincial councils as well as reduce the term of the Chief Justice.

In the former, the JHU was joined by the National Freedom Front (NFF) in its vehement objections to the northern polls on the stance that it would undermine national sovereignty and would be division under a different framework. This hardline stance has not been tossed aside by the Government, which has preferred to stay silent on the results of such a move, especially in connection to reconciliation and India’s reaction.

In the murky underbelly of Sri Lanka’s politics, several other developments have taken place in parallel to the JHU’s decision. The Government has continued with plans to grab over 6,000 acres of land in the north, despite vehement protests from Tamil parties and residents alike. Such mass acquisitions have increased disquiet over military presence in the area with fears that another LLRC recommendation to demilitarise the north will not happen before the election – if at all.  Attacks on Jaffna journalists, their offices and even on Tamil politicians themselves have grabbed headlines over the past few weeks. Couple this with zero intent by the Government to establish Police and Election Commissions or allow in foreign monitors ahead of the elections means that there is ever-diminishing hope for a free and fair poll.

Interestingly, the normally-balanced JVP has also taken the stance that the northern elections would be “counterproductive”. JVP MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake told the media on Thursday that his party believes that failure by the Government during the past four years to address burning concerns of the Tamil community will lead to the north becoming even more alienated, thus negating reconciliation efforts. He argued that the Government has laid the foundation for Tamil parties to drive a wedge between the north and south, which would only be more emphasised by an election.

Internal issues of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) have also done little to quell the mounting disquiet. Yet the party insists it will stage its campaign and will only be stopped if the 13th Amendment is detracted, an increasing possibility given the JHU’s intentions. The TNA continues to battle, defiant of the undemocratic developments with uncertain hopes of success.

Given this web of developments, it is unlikely that elections will be the boon that everyone expects.