5th Column

My Dear Sampanthan seeya,
I thought I must write to you because even though there is an election in the entire country it is the battle between the Greens and the Blues that has made the headlines — and what is happening in the North and East hardly gets a mention in the media, probably because there is no war going on now!

Electioneering is not so difficult for you this time around because you are assured of most of the seats in the North and a good majority of seats in the East because there is hardly anyone to challenge you, now that Velu is no more and your party is not compelled to be the mouthpiece for the Tigers.

Since Mahinda maama’s departure Douglas and his boys are not the force they once were and the Greens and the Blues don’t command much of a following in the North, so you must be quite relaxed as you go campaigning, knowing that that come what may, you will have a decent number of MPs.

Still, you have to present your case to the voters in a manifesto and that is where you have raised quite a few eyebrows, Sampanthan seeya. I know that you have committed yourselves to a unitary state and that is very commendable, but it is your other demands that are worrying many people in the South.

You have asked for a ‘federal solution’ with a merged North and East and also asked for control over land and law and order. Reading that, Sampanthan seeya, it seems as if nothing has changed in fifty years and after decades of terrorism, bloodshed and war, you have returned to your original demands.

Now, we know that you too have to make some promises to your voters, just as much as Mahinda maama is promising a 25,000-rupee salary, Uncle Ranil is talking of manufacturing cars in our country and Anura Kumara sahodaraya is saying he will govern with only twenty ministers.

So, Sampanthan seeya, is this a gimmick similar to that, so you can attract voters or are you serious about what you are saying? Because most people respect you for being a decent politician and a moderate regarding these matters, they would like an honest answer to that question from you.

For example, Sampanthan seeya, we have been debating this North East merger for years, ever since JR linked them in the Indo-Lanka accord nearly thirty years ago. Now that they have been de-merged, it seems to work fine so why do you want to return to something that caused so many problems?

You must also recall that the rathu sahodarayas went to courts some years ago and it was decided that the merger of the North and East was illegal. His Lordship Sarath, bless him, has done many a deed that has not earned him much praise but this was one of the very few things that he did well.

As for land and law and order, Sampanthan seeya, we all know that when the Tigers ruled the roost, they were in control of land and they tried to impose their own version of ‘law and order’. So, you must realise that there will naturally be concerns about giving that control back to the North and East.

Besides, do you think a small country such as ours needs nine Police forces? We have a hard time controlling one police force with allegations of corruption and political interference at every level. Just imagine what it would be like if nine chief ministers were to give orders to nine police forces!

Sampanthan seeya, when you gave your support to Maithri, I am sure it was greatly appreciated. In fact, later Mahinda maama was to say that Maithri won only because of your votes. That is not forgotten and you now have an opportunity to settle the issues of the North and East in your lifetime.

However, if you were to go around asking for a federal state with land and police powers, you will lose that goodwill and what’s more, some of those in the South such as young Wimal will try to impress the voters there with a cry to ‘rata jaathiya beraganna’ or ‘save the nation’ from ‘Eelam’.

That will lead to fear and uncertainty in the South where voters will then elect people who will think of the next election and not the next generation. We have suffered enough due to that with a war that lasted for over thirty years. Do you want the country to go through that all over again?

Remember, Sampanthan seeya, there was a time when you couldn’t say or do what you really wanted to, because Velu and his boys were holding a gun to your head. Those days are over now but if you too want what Velu was demanding, many would say you are no different from Velu!

Think about all this Sampanthan seeya. Because you have seen the difficulties in the North and East ever since independence was granted, many think that you are the best person to oversee an end to the differences we have between different communities in this country. You must take that chance, seeya.

Yours truly,
Punchi Putha
PS: There is speculation that neither the Greens nor the Blues will get a clear majority at the elections because the Blues have a bad reputation over the past few years and the Greens didn’t excel in the past few months. If so, Sampanthan seeya, what would you want in return for supporting either of them?