Leadership and tussles

Published : Jul 06, 2002 00:00 IST

The TULF elects Veerasingham Anandasangary its new president amidst protests by his opponents within the party. The real decision-makers here were the Tigers.

THE demise of Murugesu Sivasithamparam on June 5 left a two-fold vacuum in the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), the party he led for nearly 24 years. First, the largest moderate Sri Lankan Tamil party needed a new president. Second, the parliamentary seat held by Sivasithamparam as a nominee on the National List of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) had to be filled.

As in any democratic party, sharp divisions surfaced in the discussion on both questions. Tamil media reports suggested that a serious crisis threatened to tear the party apart. However, despite inner-party tension, both issues were resolved without major impediments when the TULF's "Mathiya Seyal Kulu" (central working committee) and nomination board met on June 23 and 24 respectively in Colombo.

On June 23, Veerasingham Anandasangary, the TULF parliamentarian from Jaffna district and senior vice-president of the party, was elected president unanimously by the "Mathiya Seyal Kulu", the party's top decision-making body. Thirty-five of the 48 members attended the meeting. Anandasangary's name was proposed by the parliamentarian from Batticaloa district, Joseph Pararajasingham, and seconded by former Member of Parliament from Batticaloa Pon. Selvarajah.

Although Anandasangary was elected unopposed, another senior TULF MP from Jaffna, Somasuntharam Senadhirajah, popularly known as "Maavai" Senadhi, protested against Anandasangary's elevation to the president's post. Senadhirajah boycotted the meeting and issued statements to the press and members of the central committee, levelling several charges against Anandasangary. The charges pertained mostly to alleged high-handedness by Anandasangary during the elections in 2000 and 2001. The Sri Lankan electoral system that involves proportionate representation and preference votes for individual candidates often causes acrimonious rivalry among contestants from the same party. Both Anandasangary and Senadhirajah had contested from Jaffna district and competed for preference votes. Anandasangary won more votes than Senadhirajah in both the elections. This contributed to the intra-party feud.

Senadhirajah raised objections to Anandasangary's election also on the basis of one more issue. The party constitution states that if the president ceases to hold office, the senior vice-president will become acting president and continue in that capacity until a new president is elected at a party convention. Senadhirajah contended that the "Mathiya Seyal Kulu" did not have the right to elect a president. The last party convention was held in 1993 and another is scheduled for next year. However, members of the central working committee noted the "difficult situation" faced by the party since the death of former Opposition leader Appapillai Amirthalingam in 1989 and took into account precedents where constitutional requirements were followed strictly.

Senadhirajah's objections were overruled in his absence and Anandasangary was elected. Now it remains to be seen whether Senadhirajah will challenge the decision in court. Senadhirajah and his supporters have also issued veiled threats about reviving, along with a section of the Tamil Congress, the Federal Party, an original constituent of the TULF. While Senadhirajah and most of his supporters originally belonged to the Federal Party, Anandasan- gary, like Sivasithamparam, hailed from the Tamil Congress. However, it is unclear whether Senadhirajah will take the step of splitting the TULF when the overall Tamil sentiment is in favour of greater Tamil unity.

Anandasangary began his political career as a Trotskyite, contesting unsuccessfully from Kilinochchi on the Lanka Sama Samaaja Party ticket in 1960 and 1965. He then joined the Tamil Congress and became the Kilinochchi town council chief in 1967. He won from Kilinochchi in 1970 and entered Parliament as a nominee of the Tamil Congress. In 1971, he joined the TULF and won from Kilinochchi in 1977. He lost both the 1989 and 1994 elections, but won in 2000 and 2001.

Anandasangary was elected senior vice-president of the TULF in 1993, and he proved to be a source of strength to the party when it was at the receiving end of systematic violence by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). He led the TULF's campaign in the Jaffna Municipal Council elections in 1998. Later, when two TULF Mayors of Jaffna, Sarojini Yogeswaran and Pon Sivapalan, were successively assassinated by the LTTE, Anandasangary took up permanent residence in Jaffna and rallied the demoralised party. He also spearheaded its parliamentary election campaign in 2000 and 2001. Vice-president Anandasangary played the role of acting president for nearly three years because of Sivasithamparam's absence from the island owing to illness.

Anandasangary also received wide media coverage in Tamil Nadu when he accompanied and assisted his former leader and international lawyer, G.G. Ponnambalam (Senior), at the Sarkaria Commission sittings. Ponnambalam led the team of lawyers representing former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi.

Anandasangary played a prominent role in this legal arrangement. He lived for several years in Chennai after the July 1983 anti-Tamil violence in Sri Lanka. Recently, when hostile reaction to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa emanated from Sri Lankan Tamil circles, Anandasangary issued a public statement condemning it. He urged that no offensive comments be made against any Indian leader, including the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister.

Joseph Pararajasingham, an MP since 1990, was elected senior vice-president of the party. Pararajasingham was earlier joint treasurer of the party. A former Jaffna Municipal councillor and a businessman, S.T. Thiyagarajah, was elected joint treasurer. All elections were unanimous.

Four members of the five-member nomination board met on June 24 to name a replacement for Sivasithamparam as National List MP. Anandasangary wanted a TULF stalwart from Jaffna district, S. Muttulingam, to be chosen for the position. However, Muttulingam's name was already on the National List as he, along with Sivasithamparam, was nominated in 2000. TULF secretary-general and MP from Trincomalee district Rajavarothayam Sambandan wanted K. Thurairatnasingham, who hails from his district, to be appointed to the post. Although Thurairatn- asingham polled 28,000 preference votes in the 2001 elections, he failed to get elected. He hails from the Mutur area, which is under LTTE control. The argument was that Trincomalee district needed enhanced Tamil representation in Parliament.

The tussle between Anandasangary and Sambandan over the question of the National List MP caused some tension with both leaders issuing contentious statements. Regional tensions between Tamils of the Northern and Eastern Provinces also surfaced. Sambandan took the issue to the LTTE for settlement. He and Pararajasingham met LTTE political wing chief S.P. Thamilchelvan and stated the case for Thurairatnasingham. The LTTE hierarchy supported Thurairatnasingham. Later, when Anandasangary met Thamilchelvan on his own and mooted Muttulingam's candidacy, the latter "regretfully" informed him that LTTE leader V. Prabakaran wanted the seat to go to Trincomalee district.

On June 25, the TULF nomination board met and announced Thurairatnam as the replacement for Sivasithamparam. However, the real decision-makers in the matter were the Tigers. It is becoming increasingly clear that ever since the formation of the four-party TNA, the influence and power of the LTTE over the moderate Tamil political parties has increased.

Sign in to Unlock member-only benefits!
  • Bookmark stories to read later.
  • Comment on stories to start conversations.
  • Subscribe to our newsletters.
  • Get notified about discounts and offers to our products.
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment