SLMC at the crossroads

By Nirupama Subramanian

KALMUNAI (AMPARA), OCT. 2. White flags and streamers, traditional Sri Lankan symbol of mourning, flutter from shops and houses. As this town grieves the untimely death last month of one of its favourite sons, M.H.M. Ashraff, the sense of loss is palpable.

Ashraff was the founder of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) which gave voice to this sizeable but insecure eastern Muslim population which fears Tamil domination.

Despite his recent efforts to give the party a national and secular look, calling it the National Unity Alliance (NUA) and co-opting politicians across religious boundaries, eastern Muslims still form the party's core.

Placed at the crossroads following Ashraff's death, the future of the SLMC, will be decided in the coming elections by its performance in this region, under a new leadership which, for the first time in its short existence, does not belong here.

The party has nominated Mrs. Ferial Ashraff, a political novice, to contest in place of her husband. She has also been appointed joint leader of the SLMC with Mr. Rauf Hakeem, articulate young lawyer and Deputy Chairman of Committees in the last Parliament who toiled in Ashraff's shadow. Both of them are from Kandy district in central Sri Lanka.

If their succession to the leadership faced opposition from aspirants in the east, Mr. Hakeem's first visit to the area after Ashraff's was definitely encouraging. Men hugged him, women kissed him and there were large turnouts at even impromptu wayside meetings. ``I have been absolutely unprepared for this reception. What we are seeing here is evidence that there is absolutely no dispute as far as my leadership is concerned,'' said a visibly moved Mr. Hakeem as he disembarked from his bullet-proof Mercedes to press the flesh outside a mosque in Ashraff's hometown Samanthurai.

After the initial paralysis following Ashraff's death, Mr. Hakeem's visit has set the NUA campaign in the district rolling again. But Mrs. Ashraff, restricted by Islam's four-month mourning period for widows, has not visited the region. Even her face does not appear on election posters. Very few here know what she looks like as she was not a regular visitor here even when her husband was alive. But NUA supporters said that would be no obstacle to her victory. It is not clear yet whether her joint leadership has been accepted, but at least in the elections, she is expected to romp home on sympathy alone.

``Everybody is very shocked by the sudden death of our leader. But it has united us even more than before,'' said Mr. Shah-ul- Hamid, an organiser for the party here.

In the Ampara electoral district, which has six seats in Parliament, the NUA is contesting as a partner of Mrs. Chandrika Kumaratunga's People's Alliance(PA).

Besides the 48-year-old widow, there are two NUA candidates on the PA list. In 1994, the SLMC, contesting separately, had two seats, while the PA got one from the Sinhala areas of the district. Under the system of proportional representation, this time, the NUA hopes to benefit from the PA's vote base in Ampara district.

There are over 1.3 lakh Sinhala voters, besides 1.47 Muslims in the district. For its part, the United National Party (UNP), which had a strong position among the Muslims in the district before the SLMC came on the scene in 1989, sees a chance to regain lost ground in Ashraff's absence. But the election in the district could turn on how 60,000 Tamils there vote.

A party, the Tamil Mahasabhai, made up of members of two of the former Tamil militant groups - the EPDP and TELO - is also contesting in the district. In the last elections, the TULF polled 40 per cent of the Tamil votes, but this time, its nominations were rejected for technical errors.

The UNP believes that these votes could be cast in its favour. ``The position is very much in our favour, especially after the death of Ashraff, and with the rejection of the TULF nominations,'' said Mr. M.M. Mohammed Mustafa, a UNP candidate.

With the election proving a close contest between the PA and the UNP Island-wide, the NUA's performance in this district will be crucial if it is to play any meaningful role in national politics. Last time, it helped the PA form the Government, and benefitted by it.

This time, Mr. Hakeem said the party would have to review its relationship with the PA after the election. Though the two are contesting under one banner, Mr. Hakeem is still fuming that Mrs. Kumaratunga did not make over to him the Cabinet portfolio held by Ashraff.

But first, Mr. Hakeem has to win in Kandy, where the NUA is contesting independently. A first-time contestant, he is up against the combined might of the PA and the UNP.

No one can yet predict whether Mrs. Ashraff will play any lasting role in the running of the party, but if Mr. Hakeem loses, there is bound to be a question mark over his leadership of the party as well as the future course of the SLMC.

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