\nThe Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has demonstrated an obsession with calls for interventions via foreign observers, international probes, advice by foreign experts, foreign trips courtesy foreign funds, running for protests in foreign countries (Geneva, NY) and clandestinely routed INGO sponsorships, all of which indicate political immaturity. This specific political hiccup has made them dependent on a remote controlled Diaspora\u2019s separatist agenda, still \u2018foreign\u2019 and aloof from the ground realities of their compatriots.<\/span>
\nThe TNA needs to distant themselves from the \u2018LTTE syndrome of the enemy everywhere\u2019 when, in fact, the enemy is within. They must shed the LTTE\u2019s demonization of the \u2018other\u2019- the \u2018Sinhala other\u2019, \u2018the Muslim other\u2019 and many \u2018otherizations\u2019 on foreign advice. They must recover the willfully diluted Tamil socio-political and cultural aspirations and rescue it from foreign wrappings which are arguably unhealthy for a home-grown negotiated power sharing package. It is time for the new leadership of the ITAK to strategize a new approach to their foreign policy as a responsible alliance. If the TNA finds certain deficits within a system, then they must add their skill to evolve new areas for discussion, propose governing adjectives without polarizing Tamil political options yet again.<\/span>
\nTNA must be transparent because this is the only way they can find allies among other political parties in the country. The old clich\u00e9s may be useful to win elections but not necessarily helpful for an alliance to survive. The same principle applies to all modern political alliances as single party governance has become increasingly untenable even in celebrated democracies. In fact, alliances are a good test of political democracy within and without.<\/span>
\nThe TNA can win the hearts and minds of the Sinhala masses when they know that their foremost allegiance is to this country and not any other. Today\u2019s popular story is that TNA is the proxy of pro-LTTE elements of the expatriate Tamil community. The TNA must recognize that this perception is a huge political impediment to their work. TNA should be able to tell these elements that they no longer can represent them. The TNA must, instead, start representing the people in this country.<\/span>
\nThe newer generations of expatriate Sri Lankan Tamils, the TNA must understand, are at best confused about the cause they fight for, because they are embedded in the avenging mode of a generation that is either gone or going. One cannot find resolve issues of power sharing here in Sri Lanka from Oslo, Paris, South London, Scarborough, Madras or Melbourne. The TNA leadership bravely says that they have consented for a united Sri Lanka, but this has to be evidenced by their political conduct. They must, after their \u2018return from Delhi\u2019 look for a solution within this country with its leaders as sons and daughters of the soil. There are solutions, but not old solutions for new problems and the new are more complicated, as complicated as the makeup of the TNA.<\/span>
\nPower sharing is not easy, because the cost falls on the side of the Tamil community and is of a magnitude larger than the TNA can ever imagine. The LTTE hijacked the cause, crippled it and finally destroyed it. The TNA\u2019s political schizophrenia is, therefore, quite understandable and other parties should be a bit more sympathetic when dealing with a political agenda still convoluted by association with the LTTE\u2019s autocratic past. The TNA as a \u2018political party\u2019 like any other coalition is liable to shocks and derails, because it\u2019s not just ideology, but fame, power and money too have become major agents of change.<\/span>
\nThe TNA has little hope and no future in running to Geneva, Delhi, Madras, Toronto or London. They must stand as proper statesmen, stateswomen and not allowed to be bullied by other actors. Delhi\u2019s message is clear enough: The TNA has to get its act together.<\/span>
\nThe TNA has to graduate from the jungle hideouts and bunker based politics of the past. The TNA has to understand that the past is only a reference and not a harbor to anchor oneself or one\u2019s skills and intelligence.<\/span>
\n(Concluded)<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
– See more at: http:\/\/www.nation.lk\/edition\/news-features\/item\/33942-the-tna%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98foreignness%E2%80%99.html#sthash.vzyrF8EQ.dpuf<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By\u00a0 Dr Shanthikumar Hettiarachchi Sunday, 05 October 2014 00:00 (This is the second and final part of an essay on the dealings and thinking of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). The first part of this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","hentry","category-newspaper-articles","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hettiviththi.lk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hettiviththi.lk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hettiviththi.lk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hettiviththi.lk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hettiviththi.lk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=311"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hettiviththi.lk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hettiviththi.lk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hettiviththi.lk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hettiviththi.lk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}