Presidential election: An Indian view:

Rajapaksa deserves to win

Following is the eidtorial comment in the Indian newspaper Pioneer on the forthcoming Presidential Election

Politics can indeed make bedfellows of sworn enemies. Nothing else explains the Tamil National Alliance, whose proximity to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was no secret when V Prabhakaran was leading his murderous campaign for a separate Tamil homeland, declaring its support for former Army Chief Sarath Fonseka who is contesting the January 26 Presidential election as the joint Opposition candidate. The TNA says that General Fonseka is the best person to address Tamil concerns, which is of course bunkum: He led the Sri Lankan military from the front in the war on the LTTE and relentlessly pursued the goal of crushing the terrorist organization till it was achieved with the justly deserved annihilation of the top leadership. While General Fonseka did what was right for his country, there are allegations of the Army committing excesses against the Tamil civilian population which cannot be brushed aside.

Moreover, serious questions have surfaced about the methods adopted by the Army while dealing with the LTTE’s senior leaders apparently, many of them were shot dead after they surrendered. While allegations levelled by those still grieving over the decimation of the LTTE, especially the Tamil Diaspora, need not be taken too seriously, it is a fact that General Fonseka nurses majoritarian biases and has rarely shown any feelings towards Sri Lanka’s ethnic minority community. It is only natural that he should have been supported by the JVP; it is equally understandable that other Opposition parties, wary of President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s amazing popularity, should have decided to back him. What is amazing is the support extended by the TNA.

Rajapaksa realizes that the election will be no cakewalk for him. The United People’s Freedom Alliance does appear to have an edge, but it increasingly seems to be a close fight. He could win the election with a handsome margin if Tamils were to back him in sufficiently large numbers, which they should their interest lies with him continuing as President and not a former soldier who pretends to be above politics but is clearly politically motivated.

The sub-continent’s experience with soldiers-turned-politicians-turned-rulers has been extremely traumatic and we definitely do not need a General as President in our neighbourhood, no matter what path he chooses to enter high office. Sri Lanka would do well to reject General Fonseka and re-elect Rajapaksa, not least because the latter has demonstrated his ability to rid the country of an ailment that plagued it for a quarter century. His administrative skills are known, too, as are his credentials. To reject him at the hustings would be to ignore his huge contribution to restoring peace to the nation after prolonged civil war. He deserves to win.