The incoming results of the Sri Lankan elections clearly point the exit of Sarath Fonseka from the political arena. Exit literal, as suggested by the news reported in Srilankagaurdian that “the Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse has given instructions to the Army Commander Jagath Jayasooriya to arrest the opposition candidate Sarath Fonseka and his family members immediately upon most of the election results are announced.”
The incoming ballot results also make it clear that Rajapakse will emerge with a neat majority. With a 70 % over all turn out, polling reported ‘mostly peaceful with minor incidents of violence’, Rajapakse can once again claim with self assured arrogance that he has the mandate of the people. But in Sri Lanka the word “people” has a single denotation – the Sinhalese. People other than Sinhalese, the minority sections – Tamils and Muslims are bare humans, close to the primitive barbarian (Veddas are an invisible category).
The pattern of voting also confirms the vast support that Rajapakse enjoys with the Southern rural masses and would further boost his self projected image of ‘spurting from the roots’. But the “roots” that Rajapakse projects has been cultivated chauvinistic for almost a century – beginning from the late decades of the 19th century – is the message that has not reached beyond academic circles.
The triumph of Rajapakse is nothing but the assertion of this chauvinistic culture deeply rooted in the polity of Sri Lanka. The ease with which the Tamils in the north were made to stay away from the ballot box through ‘warning signals’ – bombings and attacks on the offices of the main Tamil opposition party the TNA, on the day of polling simply asserts the sheer arrogance of that culture. The low turning of votes – a mere 20% in the Tamil areas highlight the fact that the Tamils are in no mood to take any risks to antagonize this chauvinistic – majoritarian arrogance.
That the Tamils are in what the sociologists call “a sieged menality” is confirmed by the report in The National: ”There were all kinds of intimidation [in Jaffna], which scared off voters, including the firing of shells from an army camp,” VT Sivalingam, a lawyer, said by telephone from Jaffna, about 400km north of Colombo. Mr Sivalingam, as well as a number of journalists in the area who spoke on condition of anonymity, said bombs, grenades and firecrackers had been set off to scare away voters.” The veil of anonymity is the only avenue to voice opinions – forget dissent, not only for Tamils but to the Muslims and other marginalized sections. It is a brute fact of the polity of the island nation.
But in spite of the matter of fact ground reality leaking in through the only available channel – the internet, the Indian media, which relies mostly on the same medium to report on the Sri Lankan events have chosen to focus on one single point: that Fonseka is not even a registered voter. In the days to come, it might ‘enlighten’ the Indian readers, with an ‘analysis’ of Sri Lankan elections, concluding that this fact turned against the contender in the final hours. And the influence exerted by the Indian interests in the Sri Lankan elections would as usual remain an untold story.
The long trajectory of the factor of “Indian interests” meddling in Sri Lankan affairs would take volumes to narrate and certainly the pages of journalism is not suited to the task. However, to bring the point to attention with reference to current events, let me point to the direct involvement of an Indian firm in deciding – to be on the safe side, predicting the outcome of Sri Lankan elections that has surfaced belatedly. The credit goes to the online edition of The New Indian Express – expressbuzz, which reports that, “An Indian firm specialising in political surveys, predicts that the incumbent President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, will win the Sri Lankan Presidential election on Tuesday by a small margin.”
It seems that the Delhi based firm “Viplav Communications” was ‘invited’ by the Sri Lankan government to conduct a survey on the outcome of the elections, and the firm after a month long research had concluded that Rajapakse would emerge victor with a clear 12% margin. But what deserves attention than the exactitude of the prediction is another minor point – the denial by the spokesperson of the firm about reports that they had done an advertising campaign for the President. “We don’t do any advertising” the spokesperson categorically rejects.
A cursory glance of the official site however leads to an article published in the Open Magazine lauding the innovative efforts of the firm in the successful election campaign of the Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in the last elections. The article narrates the strategy employed by the firm in reaching out the voters through mobile phones in what is termed as an “e-campaign”, after conducting a survey for Naveen Patnaik that predicted positive if he broke the alliance with BJP. The strategy of the firm is clear: conducting a survey for a client, elaborate a strategy for victory, and take on the campaign on the strategy elaborated.
The firm outlines its strategic use of new media in campaigning in its page: “1 million (10 Lac) Voters can be reached in one day and relayed a message from the leader on festivals like Diwali or occasions like elections. The message can be a Voice Call or an SMS sent through www.supercaller.in”. It also boasts of devising the state of the art technology – a new software in eliminating “human errors” in the process of a ‘scientific survey’.
Given such open declarations of it’s involvement in conducting surveys, devising strategies, and taking on a successful campaign, the rebuttal of the firm’s involvement in the advertisement campaign boosting Rajapakse’s image in the Sri Lankan elections seems to be utmost preposterous.
The involvement of a not much known firm in Sri Lankan affairs is only a tip of the iceberg that has emerged. It remains to be seen, in the future, the exposure of Indian diplomatic efforts, meddling in the internal affairs of the island, which is extremely destructive both to the democratic aspirations of the minorities, and to the liberation of the Sinhalese masses from the clutches of chauvinistic attitudes.
Tags: Ealam Tamils, expressbuzz, Fonseka, India, Jaffna, minorities, Muslims, Naveen Patnaik, Open Magazine, Rajapakse, sinhalese chauvinism, Sivalingam, Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan elections, The National, The New Indian Express, TNA, Viplav Communications
7 Comments
this article is full of bullshit. Muralitharan a tamil cricketer campaigned for rajapaksa. Tamils have more rights in sri lanka than in india, canada, australia. Tamils is a national language here. shame on india, canda ,australia etc.but the tamils dont appreciate. 52% of the tamils live peacefully with ithe sinhalese in the south. tamils speaking muslims have no problems with the sinhalese. dont create unncesarary problems. its not that tamils are sub human they think they are a super minority wants more rights than the sinhalese.
if only tamils stop trying to create a monoethnic racist state based on their tribalism then we will have real peace.
@shan,
I wonder whether you are a human or sub-human. Don’t you know that Srilanka is a country where democracy is sheer mockery? Journalists are killed systematically, Tamils were killed and woman were raped. No press freedom or political freedom. Have you heard of white van abduction of journalists and political rebels. 300,000 were kept in intermittent camps without food and water. A war without witness staged by the srilankan government and you are making me a laugh by telling that Srilanka is a country which gives equal rights as if nothing has ever happened in srilanka. Were you born just six months ago to think that srilanka is the most peaceful and democratic country in the world. Please do not play any more jokes like this.
Lankan is absolutely right. Hope the Tamils, Indians and world community listens to this.
To the Editor of this magazine – I severely object to the level of violent abusive language that is being allowed to get past the moderators of the comments. I request that you enlist volunteers to screen the comments for such malicious content.
To Shan and Lankan: The “Tamils” as the beseiged people in Srilanka are called are people who have toiled for the betterment of that land for ages.
I am amazed at “Lankan” for speaking with such pride about a country “pissing” on the face of a part of its own population. If a mere article can provoke such hatred, allegations made about srilanka’s war crimes appear eminently believable.
People of South India look at the massacres in your neighbourhood – does it matter which race or country those people belong to or what language they speak? Keralan Communists who I remember collected rice to help famine-stricken Cuba in the mid- nineties, don’t you feel like raising your voices for these battered humans?
the comment of Lankan was in absolute poor taste. And totally abhorrent. And downright inhuman. Is he any different from the apartheid guys of South Africa who pissed on prisoners like Nelson Mandela.
shuba and anu, pls do not fret over the comments of a certain ‘Lanka’. He is merely a toothless organ of the propaganda dictatorship of Rajapakse Family Inc. The Indian establishment no doubt played an underhand and undemocratic role to stage control the entire elections.
Why did mr. duttu gemmu-reincarnated, Rajapakse fly out to new delhi at the 11th hour prior to election day? Also, Manmohan Singh appears to be the only foreign leader to so far acknowledge the election win. It doesn’t bode well for transparency or credibility!
Meanwhile,dogs of misinformation like ‘Lanka’ have been let loose across all forums, comment sections and online sites to give acclaim to Rajapakse’s disgraceful election maneuvres. It takes only a few ruppees of Sri Lankan public expenses to buy such armchair ‘patriots’.
@ Lankan,
How many times we Tamils have told this? Singalease does not have memory. Tamil Eelam belongs to Tamils. First Singalease should give the land back to Tamils which they grabbed. Singalease should not step into Eelam land. If possible Singalease should go back to their mother land Orissa. If they cannot go back, at least they should withdraw their troops from the land they have stolen from Tamils. Lankan, this is the last time we can tell you the history to you. Remember this forever and do not tell the same story again.