National coexistence, the best proof

The ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) has amply proved national coexistence by appointing Chief Ministers from the minority communities consecutively for the Eastern Provincial Council (EPC). When the first ever EPC was set up, Sivanesathurei Chandrakanthan, a rehabilitated LTTE child soldier, was appointed the Chief Minister. Notwithstanding the fact that one-third of the Eastern population is Sinhalese, the Chief Ministerial post has now gone to a Muslim from the earlier Tamil.

The UPFA's M.N. Abdul Majeed who was last week appointed the EPC's Chief Minister, took his oaths before President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees on Tuesday. He came third in the list from the Trincomalee district, obtaining 11,726 preferential votes at last week's EPC poll where the UPFA emerged victorious.

President Rajapaksa has called upon Eastern Province Chief Minister Majeed to serve the public in the East with fairness and equality towards building a prosperous future for one and all. The President reiterated that the newly elected members of the Eastern Provincial Council must pool their strength to fulfil the aspirations of the public by serving them well.

The UPFA, which topped the EPC elections with 14 seats, has been assured the support of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and the National Freedom Front (NFF). Accordingly, the UPFA has taken over governance of the Eastern Province, respecting the supreme verdict of the Muslim, Tamil and Sinhala communities.

The UNP and the TNA made a despicable attempt to form an administration in the East. It is an open secret that there had been unprecedented foreign funding for these Opposition political parties at the EPC elections as the Tiger cohorts were under an illusion that the TNA could secure power. Though the TNA was relegated to second place by the Eastern voters, R. Sampanthan and his henchmen made a shameful attempt to secure power by disregarding the people's mandate.

Thanks to the historic decision taken by the SLMC and its leader, Minister Rauf Hakeem, the anti-government elements who had been in a dream-world had to eat humble pie eventually. It was indeed deplorable that power-hungry Opposition politicians even resorted to give a racist bent to the EPC elections.

Nevertheless, the masses in the East, had in no uncertain terms demonstrated that they were above petty communal differences and the UPFA triumphed at the EPC election. It was a simple majority, but it sent a clear signal to Opposition politicians who attempted to rouse communal passions.

On the other hand, Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has exposed the UNP's political nudity by dragging religion into politics. He seems to be perturbed after the TNA's dream of forming an EPC administration at any cost was shattered due to the SLMC's people-friendly decision. This would have perhaps prompted Wickremesinghe to declare that the SLMC had set aside the Quran and exemplified the Mahinda Chinthana .

Rather than criticising the SLMC or dragging the Holy Quran into the vortex of politics, Wickremesinghe should have first and foremost evaluated as to why his party had slid to fourth place in the East, far behind the UPFA, TNA and the SLMC. Even at the Sabaragamuwa and North Central Provincial Councils - the UNP's strength had been reduced by four seats which too went to the UPFA.

Wickremesinghe is now kicking his heels in despair and blames the SLMC and the CWC for contesting separately though the two parties are constituents of the ruling UPFA. Isn't it up to the UPFA and the leaders of the respective parties to decide as to what is advantageous for them? Is there any earthly use in Wickremesinghe pontificating to them on election strategies? On the other hand, no political leader worth his salt would take Wickremesinghe's political theories seriously as the UNP had lost 25 successive elections under his tottering leadership.

In like vein, the JVP too is making a desperate attempt to cover up its political bankruptcy. It was Tilvin Silva who said that the JVP's strength could be measured by the number of votes it polled at the recent Provincial Council elections. Silva's political knowledge is woefully lacking in that his criteria is to measure the strength of a political party by the number of demonstrators, protest marchers and those present at political rallies and not by the number of votes a party polls at an election.

Not to be outdone, his colleague Anura Kumara Dissanayake has also highlighted the true nature of the JVP's dirty politics as he had unceremoniously dragged racism into EPC politics. He alleged that the election racism continues to thrive even after the conclusion of the EPC election.

JVP politburo member Dissanayake seems to be languishing in the political wilderness after the SLMC extended its unconditional support to the UPFA. Having won the wooden spoon behind its breakaway group NFF, the JVP is apparently making a subtle attempt to revert to its 'jungle politics'. The Eastern Province has a good mix of races and the election results provided the ideal platform to set an example for the rest of the country. The Government made the first move by appointing a Muslim as the Chief Minister since the post was previously held by a Tamil. It was heartening to see the former Chief Minister Chandrakanthan welcoming his successor Abdul Majeed shortly after the latter took oaths. This alone is an ample testimony of promoting national coexistence and an occasion that gave the minority its rightful place.

It is needless to state that the international community, too, should take serious note of these developments. Over the years, the Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims have lived in a spirit of camaraderie, helping one another. The East is the best example of national coexistence. The Tamil Diaspora, over the years, has been projecting a dismal picture to the world, that the Tamils are confined to the North. However, in reality, the Tamils live in all other parts of the country including the East. It goes without saying that there are more minority communities in Colombo compared to the Sinhalese. All of them live in peace and harmony, contrary to the gloomy picture projected by the LTTE rump abroad.

The Government has, moreover, demonstrated its sincerity by providing more opportunities to the Tamils and Muslims in the North and the East. The Tamils and Muslims do not have problems unique to them. Similarly, the Sinhalese in the North and the East also face problems, which are not due to their ethnicity but rather to its geographical locations.

There is no discrimination whatsoever against the Tamils, as claimed by the Tiger cohorts to woo international sympathy. Western countries, which shed crocodile tears over Tamils in the North, should take serious note of these stark facts before swallowing the concocted stories disseminated by Tiger supporters in the West.

The recent Commonwealth Parliamentary Association sessions in Colombo helped all critics to get first-hand experience on the true ground situation in the country. Likewise, Western politicians who are ill-informed about the positive developments in Sri Lanka must visit the country and see for themselves. Those who are conversant with the true situation in Sri Lanka and its recent developments would certainly not make such wild allegations.