…ponders future course of action

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Batticaloa District Illankai Thamil Arasu Kadchchi (ITAK) contestant Shanakiyan Rasamanickam said that they would decide on a future course of action after the conclusion of the parliamentary election.

The former MP said so when The Island asked whether the TNA would consider backing the National People’s Power (NPP) government.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake recently hinted at the possibility of possible consensus between some Tamil political parties and his government. President Dissanayake had separate meetings with ex-parliamentarians EPDP leader Douglas Devananda and Sivagnanam Shritharan of TNA.

Rasamanickam declared that the ITAK could secure 13 seats, including two National List slots. “Regardless of all sorts of claims and criticism directed at us by political rivals, we are still the dominant party in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.

.That’ll be reiterated at the Nov. 14 general election,” Rasamanickam said.

Responding to another query, the outspoken politician said the EPRLF, TELO and PLOTE had quit the ITAK-led Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the ITAK also known as the Federal Party was contesting general election on its own.

According to Rasamanickam when compared with the number of Tamil political parties that had been represented in the last parliament, the number of parties and independent groups contesting in the Northern and Eastern districts was much higher.

In the last parliament, altogether five political parties were represented. The TNA contesting under ITAK symbol ‘House’ secured 10 seats, including one NL slot, EPDP (2), AITC (2) including one NL), TMVP (1) and TMTK (1).

Declaring that they had absolutely no problem in retaining the same number of seats as in the previous parliament, Rasamanickam said the oldest party in that part of the country was aiming 13 seats.

One-time TNA MP Pakkiyaselvam Ariyaenthiran who contested the recently concluded presidential election as an independent candidate was not in the fray at the general election, Rasamanickam said. However, those who backed him at that election were contesting on the Democratic Tamil National Alliance (DTNA) ticket, Rasamanickam said.

“TELO and PLOTE that represented the TNA in parliament previously are with the DTNA,” Rasamanickam said, adding that their symbol originally belonged to Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU).    Asked about ex-TNA lawmaker Sivagnanam Shritharan’s status, Rasamanickam said that Shritharan was on their Jaffna district list. Differences over him backing the candidature of Pakkiyaselvam Ariyaenthiran at the presidential election had been resolved, Rasamanickam said, urging the Northern and Eastern electorates to have faith in the ITAK.

Rasamanickam asserted that national parties would find it extremely difficult to win sufficient support among the predominately Tamil speaking electoral divisions (Jaffna, Vanni, Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Digamadulla) to make a difference.

Rasamanickam noted that at the last general election, Angajan Ramanathan entered parliament from Jaffna on the SLFP ticket, the only district that party contested under its own symbol. Ramanathan is now contesting under the ‘post box’ symbol.

The SLFP is not in the fray at the parliamentary election.

Two former prominent LTTE personnel are also in the fray in the East. Karuna Amman and Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pilleyan, both former lawmakers are contesting the Batticaloa district from different political parties. According to Rasamanickam Chandrakanthan is on the TMVP Batticaloa district list whereas Karuna is contesting on the ticket of a political party registered by ex-MP Chathura Senaratne.

Rasamanickam emphasised on the responsibility on the part of the President and the parliament to address the grievances of the Tamil speaking people.

Referring to the conclusion of the conflict in 2009, Rasamanickam said that those who had been at the helm of political power never made a genuine effort to address the issues. Instead they played politics, the Batticaloa district candidate said, urging the electorate to help build a strong opposition against the backdrop of NPP’s repeated urgings that the parliament be filled by its candidates.