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| P. Ariyanethiran garlanding a bust of Federal party founder leader S.J.V. Chelvanayakam at the event held to introduce him as the common candidate. Pix by: Northeastern Monitor |
By S. Rubatheesan
After several rounds of discussions, a group of Tamil political parties and civil society outfits on Thursday announced a central committee member of Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchchi (ITAK) as a “Tamil common candidate” to contest the upcoming presidential polls.
Former ITAK parliamentarian representing Batticaloa district, P. Ariyanethiran, was introduced as the common candidate for the presidential poll at a news briefing held at the Thanthai Selva Auditorium in Jaffna.
Mr. Ariyanethiran’s name was finalised after a long search for a suitable candidate followed by much deliberation and discussion among the parties involved. Discussions were held at the grassroots level both in the Northern and Eastern provinces.
However, from the very start, the ITAK was not part of these discussions to field a common candidate, and its senior leaders were critical of the move considering the fact that votes of minorities will be decisive in this election since leading candidates have already declared their candidatures so far.
The ITAK is yet to decide who the party would support, and its central committee is scheduled to convene today (11) to discuss the latest development of one of its committee members being appointed as a common candidate.
Political parties and civil society outfits that named a common move said the move was intended to register their disappointment with the failure of successive governments to resolve the longstanding ethnic issues in the country.
It was also agreed that the common candidate would contest as an independent candidate and not on any party ticket.
The announcement of the common candidate comes after seven political parties and seven civil society outfits signed an MoU on July 22 to form the Tamil Peoples General Council.
The MoU was signed by Selvam Adaikalanathan of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO), C.V. Wigneswaran of the Tamil Makkal Kootani, D. Siddarthan of the People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), N. Srikantha of the Tamil Nationalist Party, Suresh Premachandran of the Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), P. Iyngaranesan of the Tamil Nationalist Pasumai Movement, and S. Venthan of the Democratic Cadres Party.
Civil society activists included T. Vasantharajah, S.C. Jothilingam, Prof. K.T. Kanesalingam, and R. Wigneswaran, and political analysts A. Jatheendra and M. Nilanthan.
I have not gone against any party decisions- Presidential candidate Ariyanethiran
The newly appointed common Tamil candidate, P. Ariyanethiran, says the main purpose of contesting the upcoming presidential polls is to voice the collective disappointment of the Tamil-speaking people.
“In the past eight presidential elections in this country, Tamil people were let down by successive governments despite many assurances given to them. For this election, we, the Tamil people, wanted to send a message to the whole country that, as a country, we cannot move further without addressing the root cause of the ethnic conflict in the country,” Ariyanethiran told the Sunday Times.
Stressing that he is contesting to advance the Tamil cause, Mr. Ariyanethiran pointed out that “it is not about winning a seat” but to reiterate the “policies and mandates of Tamil people who voted for a federal-based solution to the ethnic conflict in a merged North and Eastern provinces in the past.”
Even though ITAK is yet to announce its decision, Mr. Ariyanethiran, a central committee member of the party, believes that the party will have to take a similar stand for the sake of the party’s political future.
“So far, the party has not decided to extend support to any political party, nor has it prevented anyone from taking a different stand on this so far. I believe I have not violated the party’s decisions,” he said. (Source- The Sunday Times)
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