The Australasian Federation of Tamil Associations (AFTA), the umbrella body of the peak Tamil Associations in Australia and New Zealand would like to draw the attention of the International Community (IC) to the outcome of the local council elections held in northern Sri Lanka that stands a testimony to their quest for self-rule in the Tamil homeland.
AFTA in its media release today said: Sri Lanka rushed through elections for local councils in two major towns in the Northern Province, within 3 months of their militarily defeating the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Under Sri Lankan army occupation, certainly, normalcy in the battle-scarred north is a long way off.
Sri Lanka must have called these council elections after 11 years for two reasons. One is to tell the world that conditions are back to normal in the province after the defeat of LTTE. The other is to assess the support to the ruling coalition among the Tamils, before deciding on the Presidential election for which Tamil votes are vital.
Tamil National Alliance (TNA), which advocated for self-rule for the Tamil homeland based on the Tamils’ right to self-determination, won the most seats in Vavuniya’s local council and the second most in Jaffna. The ruling coalition which included Tamil paramilitaries turned ‘politicians’ did win control of Jaffna, but finished third in Vavuniya, behind another Tamil party.
According to the BBC, voter turnout was just 20 percent in the town of Jaffna, and 52 percent in Vavuniya, both of which were controlled by the LTTE for years and are now underpopulated, since the government has not yet given more than 300,000 ethnic Tamils permission to leave internment camps and return home.
TNA during its campaign announced that they are soon going to put forward a proposal for autonomy for the north-east region based on the right to self-determination of Tamils. In spite of the low voter turn out due to intimidation by Tamil paramilitaries and lack of confidence in the Colombo government, majority of the voters have supported TNA. "The vote in the north was very clearly for Tamil rights and autonomy," says Jehan Perera a Singhalese and the executive director of the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka, a nonpartisan advocacy group. "It's a good indication of the challenges that there are to be faced", he added.
Foreign – and many Sri Lankan – journalists were not allowed to cover the elections. Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said that the decision to bar the media "dashes any hope of a transparent election." Government may have won the war against Tamils, but not their hearts and minds.
AFTA calls on the democratic nations, NGOs and Eminent persons around the globe, to take serious note of this clear message sent by the besieged Tamil people in Sri Lanka and take positive steps to restore normalcy in the occupied Tamil homeland and to find a political solution to the over six decade long ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. The international media could play a vital role in exposing the injustices inflicted upon the defenceless and voiceless Tamil people in Sri Lanka.
