Conflict in Sri Lanka: Ground Realities - Tamil Nation & Beyond
Conflict in Sri Lanka: Ground Realities - Tamil Nation & Beyond
Conflict in Sri Lanka: Ground Realities - Tamil Nation & Beyond
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<strong>in</strong>ception of the CFA, they laid out conditions for Rajapakse <strong>in</strong>return for their support. Know<strong>in</strong>g that, without their support,he could not th<strong>in</strong>k of w<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g, although Rajapakse is a realistwith pragmatic political ideas, he decided to agree to all theseconditions.The most important of these conditions that affect the futureprospect of peace <strong>in</strong> <strong>Sri</strong> <strong>Lanka</strong> are:• Any political solution will be with<strong>in</strong> the unitary type ofconstitution only• The concept of self government or separate homelandfor <strong>Tamil</strong>s is not acceptable• A revision of the CFA• No tsunami aid shar<strong>in</strong>g deal (P-TOMS) with the LTTEwhich has been encouraged by the donors• No major role for Norwegian peace brokers.For the JVP and JHU, prevent<strong>in</strong>g Wickramas<strong>in</strong>ghe from becom<strong>in</strong>gthe next president was more important than elect<strong>in</strong>g Rajapakseas the next President. The JHU considers Wickramas<strong>in</strong>ghe moreconciliatory towards <strong>Tamil</strong>s and, for the JVP, if Wickramas<strong>in</strong>ghebecomes the president, where to hide will be a worry.The <strong>Tamil</strong>s, who usually do not actively participate <strong>in</strong> Presidentialelections, (<strong>in</strong> the Dec. 2000 Presidential elections only 19% ofthe <strong>Tamil</strong>s voted <strong>in</strong> the Jaffna pen<strong>in</strong>sula), realised the futility ofsupport<strong>in</strong>g one or the other of the candidate vis-à-vis the peaceprocess, due to the experience of the last 4 years. Thus, theydecided to keep away from participat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the vot<strong>in</strong>g and let theS<strong>in</strong>ghalese choose their leader. As a result, only 1-2 % voted <strong>in</strong>the North and less than half the <strong>Tamil</strong> people <strong>in</strong> the governmentcontrolled areas <strong>in</strong> the east voted. Therefore, Wickramas<strong>in</strong>ghe,who was expected to w<strong>in</strong> comfortably with the support of the<strong>Tamil</strong> votes, was defeated narrowly by Rajapakse, who receivedthe support of the nationalist S<strong>in</strong>ghalese voters.37