TGTE has no faith in polls

The Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) led by former LTTE member V. Rudrakumaran has said that it has no faith in the Parliamentary elections scheduled to be held next month.

A statement by the TGTE said that the presence of Tamil members in the Sri Lankan Parliament will in no way transform the “Sinhala Buddhist racist characteristics” of the Sri Lankan State.

The TGTE says the Tamil people know very well that the same Parliament of Sri Lanka has continued to be the core of unbridled power for Sinhala racism. It is in this Parliament that the legislation which helps entrench Sinhala Buddhist hegemony and laws that are meant to destroy the well-being of the Tamil people have been enacted. Given such a historical context, there are those who question the very purpose of contesting in these elections and becoming elected as members of such a Parliament.

Moreover, the TGTE said that having to abide by an oath of acceptance of the 6th Amendment which criminalizes the Tamil people’s freedom of expression, prior to contesting in these parliamentary elections, is seen as a fundamental contradiction by many.

The TGTE is resolute in its position that the 6th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution should be repealed in order for the Tamils to freely debate and determine their political future as a people. Nevertheless, we are of the opinion that it is essential for the Tamils to participate in this parliamentary election for strategic reasons.

Since the international community holds it as a norm that people’s representatives are elected through a ballot, the TGTE says it is imperative that the Tamil people elect their representatives but only those who are capable of leading the Tamil national liberation struggle further forward.

The present election is the first General Election to follow the Presidential election of January 8th. Since this one follows closely on the heels of the change of regime, there are those who consider this as a continuation of the same change. On the contrary, the TGTE says it has been the policy of those who came into power after the regime change to consider the Tamil national question within the framework of a unitary state, and to narrow down the international investigation against Tamil genocide towards a domestic investigation.

Under these circumstances, the TGTE says it should be clear that irrespective of which Sinhala political party wins leadership at these elections, all governments will be committed to protecting Sinhala Buddhist majoritarianism and so Tamil leaders should not immerse themselves in such fantasies as reaching solutions to fulfill political aspirations of the Tamil people before the end of 2016 neither should they be spreading false hopes among the Tamil people. (Colombo Gazette)