Mahintha Rajapakse has emerged as the winning candidate in the recent Presidential election in Sri Lanka, by just a little more than fifty percent of the votes polled. The Sinhalese have given a verdict by casting their votes. While the Tamils have given a unanimous verdict by not voting enmasse.

Those who have given victory to Mahintha Rajapakse have by this act declared themselves as Sinhala chauvinists and that they fully support Sinhala chauvinism. This is their verdict.

The Tamils, by boycotting this presidential election and refraining from voting in their totality, have declared that they will never succumb to Sinhala supremacy. This is the verdict of the Tamils who had refused to vote.

One election - Two verdicts.

The future of Sri Lanka is to be written on the basis of these verdicts. We are not trying indulge in political prophesying. But the past history shows us many bitter truths which point to this. It clearly tells us that the Sinhalese in general have always been partial to Sinhala chauvinism. This presidential election too has revealed this fact. It is a bitter fact that the Sinhala people have again proved that they too are chauvinists like their leaders and politicians.

The pioneer in this field of Sinhal chauvinism is the former prime minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranayake who was the first to openly flaunt Sinhala Buddhist chauvinistic ideas. This not only led Ceylon to be divided but also to his own death. The murderer who shot him was a Buddhist monk. (That this priest embraced Christianity just before being hanged and therefore the one who was hanged was a Christian and not a Buddhist priest, is yet another story!)

Democratic traditions were violated and became meaningless because these chauvinistic concepts were put to practice from the inception. These democratic traditions on which the Tamils had depended and continued to believe were violated by constitutional changes and the Acts which they brought along and through State violence. The basic rights of the Tamils were denied and their normal way of life was destroyed. Whatever struggles that the Tamils engaged in democratic ways were ruthlessly crushed by State violence. Because of this brutal treatment the passive struggles of the Tamils evolved into an Armed struggle. The victories and strength that the Tamils have acquired through armed resistance are the basis for the hope and confidence that the Tamils have of their future.

The above facts too are among the reasons for the Tamils' disinterest in the presidential election and their boycott of it enmasse. The Sinhala leaders, in the past, had failed even to examine the mandates that the Tamils had given in the elections held earlier. The Tamils had emphatically voiced their demand that their traditional homeland be recognised in these democratically expressed mandates. The Sinhala leadership never did consider this, let alone endorsing it.

Therefore, no wonder the Tamils are riddled with doubts! How many times do they need to convey their wishes through voting? How many times do they have to repeat their demands and the clear message through ballots? So far their demands have not been accepted; they have not been executed. Is this the solution to the problems the Tamil Nation, offered by the Sri Lankan democracy? Is this reasonable? Is this just? These are the justified doubts of the Tamils.

So, why should the Tamils participate in elections which do not in any manner take the wishes and mandates of the Tamils into consideration? The earlier elections have served the Tamils only as a means to express their unified desire to be a free nation. No other benefits have come by them.

The boycotting of the presidential election is their own answer to their own questions mentioned above.

We wish to discuss another matter here. The Tamils of Eelam have long since realised the futility of elections. But it is doubtful whether the Sinhalese have realised the same and whether they would do so even in the future. We wish to present some facts to prove this point.

Just as much the Sinhala people have supported chauvinistic principles and voted for it in the past, they have been caught in some other illusions too. They have been deceived by their leaders who had failed to deliver their pre-election pledges.

These were the same Sinhala people who voted for Srimavo Bandaranayake believing her promise of bringing rice even from the moon. They had once again voted her to victory when she promised a pound of bread at the price of four rupees.

One could thus cite many an example.

This typical manner of Sinhala voting reveals another truth too. It shows that they are prone to believe even the most impractical pledges.

We feel that if the Sinhala people do not see the folly of their attitude they will come to learn some very bitter lessons in the future. They will painfully realise through bitter experience that the leaders whom they have elected so far had never solved any of their problems and that this would be the same with those whom they have elected now. The Sinhala people should free themselves from the illusions that bind them. The present day elections are never conducted on the basis of democracy. On the contrary they are held in such a way that they function like drugs. The day would dawn for the Sinhala people only when they realise that their leaders have never kept their election promises.

We had been discussing so far about the results of the presidential election and the background of it. It is considered suitable to present some more views about some important matters. This election has made Mahintha Rajapakse an all powerful president with executive powers. Already there are many theories and guessing as to how he is going to address the burning problems of Sri Lanka. Some have already begun to write their own forecasts about peace proceedings and the intervention of certain foreign countries(?). Some have expressed that Mahintha Rajapakse being the all powerful executive president, would not need the support of the hardliners like JVP and this would enable him to enforce measures which would benefit the country. But the newly elected president, instead of issuing statements of clarity and confidence, indulges in loose talk.

Everyone wonders as to what measures Mahintha Rajapakse as the President intends adopting to meet the major issues that beset the country. As far as we are concerned, we believe that he needs none to advise him; the result which Sinhala chauvinism had already reaped, remains as a valuable lesson and a wise guide in choosing his approach.

We have already mentioned as to how Sinhala Buddhist chauvinistic thoughts and deeds had finally destroyed the very persons who had professed them.

President Rajapakse, who harps on the 'Era of Bandaranayake', should realise how that 'Era' had led Bandaranayake himself and the country to destruction. This is the lesson that the 'era' can teach Mahintha Rajapakse. If this does not suffice he should just consider what the final results taught Madame Chandrika who opted to wage a merciless war on the Tamils. She was the first to propose the concept of a Union rule in place of a Unitary State. Mahintha Rajapakse should get accustomed to the reality that Unitary Rule is something impracticable under the present circumstances.

Many such lessons are readily available to Mahintha Rajapakse to learn from. If he fails to utilise them the consequences would be quite drastic. The problems that head the agenda may become the ones to make one loose one's head.

Though Mahintha Rajapakse's attitudes remain intransigent, there is a probability of one of his hopes being fulfilled. His desire to meet the National Leader of Tamil Eelam has more chances of being realised. 'A friendly visit to Tamil Eelam by Mahintha Rajapakse, the President of the neighbouring country Sri Lanka' - May his wish soon become a reality under this caption!

Sri Lanka's presidential election is now over. As we have previously mentioned, the right verdict is not the one of November seventeenth! The verdict that is to be read on the twenty-seventh of November would be the right verdict! We anxiously wait for this verdict. The Martyrs' Day address of the National Leader of Tamil Eelam, His excellency Vellupillai Pirabhakaran that will be aired on the 27th of November, will clarify our doubts and show the definite path to be followed.

Our Leader has always reiterated the principles of Traditional Tamil Homeland, Tamil Nation, Self-rule and the Right for self-determination. He has requested the International countries to understand and recognise the legitimate struggle of the Tamil Eelam Nation and to exert pressure on the Sri Lankan State leaders to meet these demands in the right manner.

As the Tamils of Tamil Eelam under the banner of 'Pongu Thamil' and the expatriate Tamils under the banner of 'Elluha Thamil' stand unified and charged with emotion behind the Tamil Nation's Leadership, we too, like all of you, look forward to hear Tamil Eelam's National Leader's Martyrs' Day address to the world.

| This article has been written by Sabesan and translated by Vannijan |

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