Regardless of change in national politics, Tamils need strong representation in Parliament: Sumanthiran

Regardless of the decisive change in Sri Lanka’s national politics — with the election of Anura Kumara Dissanayake in September this year — the country’s Tamil people will need strong representation in Parliament to assert their rights and long-neglected demands, according to prominent Tamil politician M.A. Sumanthiran.

COLOMBO

Regardless of the decisive change in Sri Lanka’s national politics — with the election of Anura Kumara Dissanayake in September this year — the country’s Tamil people will need strong representation in Parliament to assert their rights and long-neglected demands, according to prominent Tamil politician M.A. Sumanthiran.

A senior lawyer and two-time legislator, he is contesting in the November 14 parliamentary elections from the northern Jaffna district for the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK), a party that has for decades been the main Tamil voice in the Sri Lakan legislature, including through the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) that it led since 2001. In the last Parliament [2020-2024], the grouping had 10 MPs, six down from between 2015 and 2019.  

The grave economic crisis of 2022, which led to a historic people’s movement that ousted Gotabaya Rajapaksa from office, has substantially altered Sri Lanka’s political and electoral landscapes. Traditional parties and several longtime politicians have been ejected. “The ITAK is telling voters that there has been a change at the Centre, a third force has come to power. If the new dispensation brings in far reaching changes in governance structure, the Tamils need strong representation in Parliament to assert our rights as a distinct people living in the north and east of the country,” Mr. Sumanthiran said. Observing that the Tamil people have been agitating for their political rights for 75 years he said the ITAK, which is the “main Tamil party”, has been a proponent of a federal solution.

Meanwhile, the party has also been grappling with many challenges, ranging from internal differences to the breakup of its broader alliance that was held together by ITAK veteran Rajavarothiam Sampanthan, who passed away in July this year at 91. The TNA has disintegrated, with the ITAK’s former partners —People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) and Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) — breaking away to run on a separate platform called the Democratic Tamil National Alliance (DTNA). The Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), which earlier split from the TNA, has also joined this Alliance.

Asked if the ITAK has weakened consequently, Mr. Sumanthiran said: “No, in fact I think we have strengthened our position. We are a more decisive force now. There is clarity and coherence about how we will work with the people and assert our demands, rather than have a confused leadership and constituents pulling in different directions.”

Concerns of Tamils