Superior

In contrast, Jeyanandamurthy’s “televised” speech from London was shallow and unimpressive. Any TGTE representative comparing the addresses of both would definitely have opined that Rudrakumaran’s performance was far superior. Jeyanandamurthy also made a fool of himself by saying that Prabhakaran was alive and that the leadership would go public at the appropriate juncture.

Another filibustering tactic by the anti- Rudra faction was to demand that the appointment of an interim chief executive and executive committee be postponed as some seats of the TGTE were yet to be filled. But Prof. Francis Boyle stated that elections could be held as a quorum was available. So elections were held.

When elections to the interim chief executive were announced there were two contenders. As expected the two were Rudrakumaran and Jeyanandamurthy. When the 14 representatives s in London voted 11 were for Jeyanandamurthy and 3 for Rudrakumaran.In Geneva all 12 representatives were for Rudrakumaran. In Philadelphia an overwhelming number of the 47 representatives extended support to Rudrakumaran.

Realising the battle was lost Jeyandamurthy withdrew from the fray. Thus Rudrakumaran was the “unanimous” choice as interim chief executive of the TGTE. Thereafter the executive committee was elected through consensus rather than contest.

Jeyanandamurthy who announced his withdrawal from the contest subsequently issued a statement saying the election was not conducted fairly as representatives assembled in Geneva and Philadelphia had not voted.  He also said that there was only one National leader for the Tamils and that was Prabhakaran thus insinuating that Rudrakumaran was not the leader.

Attacks

Anti – Rudra Tamil  elements also started attacks in the overseas media that Rudrakumaran was trying to project himself as the Tamil national leader and that the TGTE was attempting to supplant the  LTTE.

In Paris copies of the “Thai Nilam”(Mother Land) newspaper  were seized from shops and burnt in the streets. The paper published Rudra’s picture with  a front page story announcing his success.

As stated earlier the TGTE inauguration in Philadelphia was a victory for Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran. Given the fact that all the LTTE branches controlled by Nediyavan were against him the New York lawyer has certainly done well to get the TGTE project off the ground and overcome the Nediyavan–Jeyachandran conspiracy to oust him.

But the future is certainly not rosy as overseas LTTE intrigue and infighting is far from over. The Nediyavan–Jeyachandran–Jeyanandamurthy combination is likely to hatch more plots. Already there are moves to stage elections to the various Tamil Eelam Peoples Assemblies and weave them into a confederation rivaling the TGTE.Against this backdrop the TGTE under Rudrakumaran will certainly have to face fresh challenges as it proceeds towards the immediate objective of drafting a Constitution for the Transnational Tamil Eelam government.

Whatever its merits or defects the concept of a Transnational  government by LTTE supporters has evoked quite a bit of interest among observers. Despite obvious flaws it was indeed a rare sight to see diehard supporters of the LTTE adopt democratic principles and participate in elections.

This is perhaps the first time that Diaspora members of any ethnicity have formed a Transnational entity of this kind. The intellectual curiosity of several western academics seems to have been aroused by the concept.

Exercise

It is a moot point as to whether others too would emulate this exercise in the future. One would not be surprised if Transnational communities like the Kurdish people follow suit in the future.

Predictably the Sri Lankan Government is firmly opposed to the TGTE and several ministers have stated so. Given the deep divisions in the pro-LTTE Diaspora the TGTE runs the risk of falling apart   as a result of internal dissension.

If and when that happens, the TGTE representatives who convened in Philadelphia may do well to remember the wise words of Benjamin Franklin who played an important part in the events leading to American Independence.

When the US founding fathers kept on quibbling among themselves during discussions and struck out in different directions  Benjamin Franklin urged unity and cautioned his compatriots. Quoting Jesus Christ, Franklin said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand” (Mathew 12:25) (ENDS)

~ dailymirror.lk ~ By DBS Jeyaraj