What of the rational Tamil voice?

A development will be meaningful when it is done within a peaceful atmosphere. The previous governments never had an opportunity of initiating massive development drives in a post – war era, because those governments could not end the war. The present government had that opportunity to carry out massive development projects in a real post- war period. The Rajapaksa Government is the one and only Government which saw the post war era of Sri Lanka. This is an historical period in this country.

Some revolutions can be justified, but most of the revolutions cannot be. Revolutions will lead to armed conflict. The government in office will have to deal with protesters in different forms. Rulers should know which language to be used when dealing with different stake holders. When it comes to LTTE, it has to be “Attack” as most common chess game phrase suggests “attack is the best form of defense”. On the other side, the rulers should take care of the masses and keep them under control by satisfying their basic needs. But many rulers failed in this area.

In Sri Lanka for more than 3 decades, the country had a basic problem. That was the struggle to live. Unfortunately, the changing governments could not find a permanent solution to this war situation. As a result those governments not only faced difficulty in administration, but also saw people getting frustrated day by day and migrating to other countries. We had a severe brain drain situation. Even many positive minds turned negative when the war went from bad to worse. The governments struggled a lot to survive even during the local government elections. But the Present Government made a big difference to this lifestyle. President Rajapaksa made an effective move and took a bold decision to finish off the war at any cost for the betterment of the country. There is a saying that Fortune favors the brave. It paid off immediately and Rajapaksa was able to finish the war effectively in less than 4 years. But the Rajapaksa government did not relax and quickly initiated the massive development drive in war affected areas, for people to really feel the difference.

Mahinda Rajapaksa also knows that from a global perspective, only a few governments survived after civil wars. It is unfair, but that has been the thinking of the people. Many countries have failed after the war or civil conflict hostilities. Knowing this history, Rajapaksa quickly put an able force in the form of Minister Basil Rajapaksa to quickly restore the life in north. Minister Basil Rajapaksa also stuck to the task of implementing a rapid development drive which made a big difference in the life of the northern people. As a result the whole country slowly started to enjoy the benefits of the development.

But, now after the establishment of the northern provincial council, people of the province are realizing that the provincial administration is not doing enough like the central government. Here we can see the difference. The northern provincial government backed by TNA, is trying to push the Tamils to the LTTE era by keeping them in the dark and in difficulty. We must again refer to the definition regarding Development. If anyone deliberately stops the development activity for a long time, the benefits for the people will be lost. TNA backed provincial council has also resorted to these cheap techniques. The province can do much work under 36 categories, but the Chief Minister C V Vigneswaran always stresses for Police and Land authorities. The Government has categorically rejected the call for Police powers and it has said police powers will not be granted. Even India has not given this for some of its main state governments. A country which is after a 3 decades long brutal war cannot afford to give police powers which is very sensitive and promotes separatism at the end. Land issues can be solved amicably by sharing the necessary powers by central government and provincial governments. But a moderate Tamil will raise a question. Do northern Tamils have only land related problems? No. They have plenty of small scale day-to-day problems. Those problems can be solved by the 36 points provincial administration plan.

Situation in the northern province
Chief Minister Vigneswaran criticizes the provincial structure, but remains in power. CV was given an office space with Rs 350,000/- expenses. Further, he is given 1200 liters of petrol or Diesel per month for transport purposes.CV enjoys the luxurious office structure including 2 coordinating secretaries, other secretaries, 2 media secretaries and domestic aides. Recently CV was given Rs 10 million worth Luxurys Vehicle. The Chief Minister is entitled for 3 vehicles. All 3 vehicles have been given. On the same day, a vehicle worth 6 million rupees was handed over to provincial health minister. These facilities are given out of central government’s money. CV was talking about police powers, but he should understand that except his luxurious vehicle the other 2 vehicles will carry police personnel for his security. On the other side it is people’s money. So it is an obligation of the provincial government to serve the people without hesitation, but this has not happened so far. Rational thinking Tamils should push the Northern Provincial Council to come into a peaceful agreement with central government for the betterment of the northern people.

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Gotabaya rajapaksa came forward to represent the central government to meet CV to iron out the differences between the central government and Northern Provincial Government. Gotabaya Rajapaksa also went to say that he is ready to go to Jaffna to meet CV ( if necessary ) and discuss the basic problems and come to a peaceful agreement between two parties. This is a good opportunity. CV and Northern Provincial Council should grab this golden opportunity and try to solve the practical problems. This will also create an atmosphere for TNA to build up a good relationship with the central government and thereby able to arrive at a permanent solution to the ethnic issue.