Hopes stir on peace front

The Prime Minister's offer came soon after he was sworn in by President Chandrika Kumaratunga two Sundays ago. The PA appears to be not so keen about the offer with its leaders, instead of giving a direct answer, talking about their supporters being attacked or offering lame excuses.

Little do its leaders realise that bipartisanship is an ideal mechanism to eliminate election violence. 

If the PA takes up the stand that it is unable to cooperate with the UNF government on the grounds that its supporters are being attacked, then it is in a way shirking its national responsibility. Given the problems the country is facing today, the main opposition should share the responsibility and bear the burden with the government in taking this country towards stability and prosperity. 

The grievance the PA expresses over attacks on its grassroots cadres should also be addressed. The new government should take immediate steps to stem any kind of political violence because it will hinder a bipartisanship, which is the best panacea for our socio, political and economic ills.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe has taken the initial step to form a national government, by inviting the PA and restricting the cabinet to 25 members to accommodate PA members.

President Chandrika Kumaratunga is under pressure to accept the government's new offer to join hands with the government. A section of the PA members are in favour of a national government. 

At the recent SLFP central committee meeting, the President came under heavy pressure from party stalwarts who urged her to cooperate with the new government in solving the country's burning problems. Kingsley Wickremaratne came out strongly expressing his views that there should be consensus between the two major parties to create a new political culture in the country.

Former ministers Lakshman Kadirgamar and Lakshman Jayakody also supported this view. Mr. Jayakody in particular said there were two camps in the SLFP right now. One camp is for an equation with the President and the other for an equation without the President, he said. 

The central committee then discussed at length the possibility of a PA breakaway group joining the UNF government.

Some members rightly argued that one or two PA members joining the UNF government would not make it a national government. 

When some UNPers joined the PA government in August last year, it did not lead to the formation of a national government. Rather it caused problems within the PA, with some members seeing it as a hindrance to the progress of their political career. Sarath Amunugama and Harendra Corea were classic examples of this sort of crossing over. It did not take them anywhere, but bogged them down in a marsh. 

So, it is important to form a truly national government not a political national government of August 2000, because any solution to the ethnic problem needs the consensus of both parties. The PA and the UNP have to think nationally and act rationally because this may be the last chance for peace. We have to make peace or the country will be in pieces in a short time. It needs courage and strength to surmount the obstacles on the way.

Sinhala hard-liners may protest vehemently, but what these parties should realise is that chauvinistic politics have been rejected by the people at the December 5 general elections. More than 80 per cent of the people in the south voted for the two major parties who aspire to have a negotiated settlement to the North-East problem. 

Bearing this in mind, both the President and the Prime Minister should work towards achieving this goal without any delay.

In 1987, President J. R. Jayewardene signed a peace deal with the Indian government under a cloak of secrecy. The Indo-Lanka accord had to be signed amidst curfew and countrywide riots instigated by Sinhala hard-liners who were backed by Mr. Jayewardene's political opponents. 

In retrospect, the Indo-Lanka accord was an opportunity missed. It was scuttled by some members of Mr. Jayewardene's cabinet. We cannot miss another chance for peace.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe's mission to India is obviously aimed at resurrecting the dead peace process with third party mediation. He has already appointed ministerial and backup committees comprising efficient bureaucrats who are likely to work out modalities for a new peace deal. 

With peace, the economy will undoubtedly be in ascendant. More investments will flow in and infrastructure development can take place. Money that was drained out of the state coffers for the upkeep of the troops and to wage war could be channelled for this purpose. The existing troops could also be gainfully deployed in other fields of development. But all this depends on a concerted effort with consensual or bipartisan approach.

The stark reality is that as a nation we are no more in a position to talk about the nature of the state whether it is unitary, united or whatever the term they use. A significant amount of devolution has to go to the people of the North and the East for them to be a part and parcel of the Sri Lankan society.

It is also unwise to go for symmetrical devolution and waste huge sums of money on provincial administrations. Today, provincial councils are a burden to the people and the country's coffers. Asymmetrical devolution for the North and East will certainly help to solve this problem. A federal set up within a united Sri Lanka is the only solution acceptable to many Tamils.

LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran in his heroes' day speech categorically stated that the LTTE was agreeable to something less than a separate state. So, it is an opportune time for us to shed our prejudices and work towards a more pragmatic solution to bring peace to this troubled land. It is the responsibility of all and every citizen to work towards this, putting behind them the sour past and thinking in terms of a fresh start for a united Sri Lanka. 

In that context it is important that every Sri Lankan should support the peace initiative taken by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe irrespective of party politics. All members of the UNP should also back the peace initiative so that it would not end like the 1987 Indo-Lanka accord, which crumbled under opposition from within.

The LTTE on Wednesday declared a unilateral cease-fire, seeking a favourable response from the new government.

In an official statement issued on Wednesday from its headquarters in Wanni, the LTTE announced the declaration of a month long unilateral cessation of hostilities as a goodwill measure during the festive season to facilitate and promote initiatives towards a peace process. The LTTE's observation of ceasefire begins at midnight on Christmas eve, December 24, 2001.

"Mr. Velupillai Prabhakaran, the leader and military commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, has issued orders to all units and combat formations of the Tamil liberation army to cease all hostile military actions against Sri Lankan armed forces from midnight December 24, 2001 till midnight January 24, 2002", the LTTE's statement declared.

"Encouraged by the collective mandate for peace and ethnic harmony given by the Sinhala and Tamil masses at the general election, the LTTE leadership has decided to declare, unilaterally, a month long cessation of armed hostilities during the festive season of Christmas, New Year and Thai Pongal (Hindu Harvest festival) as a gesture of goodwill to facilitate the promotion of peace initiatives. We fervently hope that the new government of Sri Lanka will reciprocate positively to our goodwill gesture and instruct its armed forces to observe peace during this period.

"Our decision to cease armed hostilities and observe peace during the festive season should be viewed as a genuine expression of goodwill, demonstrating our sincere desire for peace and a negotiated political settlement. We are confident that the new government will utilise this space of peace to implement goodwill measures to create congenial conditions of normalcy in the Tamil homeland by withdrawing the economic embargo and other restrictions and prohibitions imposed on our people.

"If the Sri Lanka government reciprocates positively to our goodwill gesture and ceases armed hostilities against our forces and takes immediate steps to remove the economic embargo and other restrictions, the LTTE will favourably consider extending the period of cease fire to create cordial conditions for a stable peace and de-escalation," the statement said.

The announcement came on the eve of Prime Minister Wickremesinghe's official visit to India to discuss bi-lateral issues with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The Indian government was inimical to the LTTE after the assassination of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. However, India is keen to see a negotiated settlement for the Lankan problem since it could finally spill over to the Indian shore.

Should the government respond to the LTTE offer? This is a major political question. There had been many occasions earlier, too, where the LTTE had declared unilateral cessation of hostilities.

As a new government in power, the UNF should look at it positively and assess the situation carefully because it should not send wrong signals to the LTTE. What is important is taking positive steps towards a negotiated settlement. The UNP has already committed to setting up of an interim council for the North-East with the participation of all political parties representing the Northern and Eastern regions. With the international community restricting or banning LTTE activities — Australia being the latest country to ban the LTTE — the Tigers are under immense pressure to abandon their military approach and adopt a peaceful approach to achieve their goal. 

This situation has been brought about largely because of the efforts of former Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar and the PA government.

For a negotiated political solution, it is essential that the government bring about constitutional changes. If the PA withholds its support — like what the UNP did to the PA efforts last year — Sri Lanka will be well on road to ruin.

Under these circumstances, the government can only woo some of the opposition Parliamentarians by introducing a crossover bill in Parliament. It could be a two-way bill or even a one-way crossover from the opposition to the government as Mr. Jayewardene did with the infamous Rajadurai amendment in the 1980s.

As soon as the LTTE announced its cease-fire on Wednesday, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe immediately conferred with Foreign Minister Tyronne Fernando and several other senior ministers on the action to be taken.

The Prime Minister, accompanied by Defence Minister Tilak Marapana met the President on Friday to discuss the matter and give a response to the LTTE's offer. Later in the evening, the Prime Minister's Office issued a statement, announcing a one-month ceasefire, beginning from midnight tomorrow.

UNP sources said a partial lifting of the economic embargo is also being considered and an announcement in this regard is likely soon after the Prime Minister returns from India where he is currently on a mission to seek the blessings of Indian leaders for his peace initiative.

With events shaping up favourably for the new prime minister on the peace front, it is worthwhile to have a retrospective view of the different parties taken on various issues during the PA-UNP talks held in the year 2000 regarding the devolution of power.

State and Sovereignty

PA Position

• Sri Lanka is one, Sovereign and Independent Republic, being an indissoluble union of regions and shall be known as the Republic of Sri Lanka.

• It shall be the duty of the people and of the state to safeguard the independence, sovereignty, unity and the territorial integrity of the Republic.

UNP Position

• The primary objective of the constitution should be to strengthen and build the unity of all communities and religions within a democratic framework. The provision of the constitution must be such as to create a Sri Lankan identity and thus ensure the indivisibility and unity of Sri Lanka as a nation.

• A constitution which embodies aforesaid basic principles will be fair by all the communities and religions which together make up the Sri Lankan nation and will give justification for maintaining the unity and territorial integrity of the Republic.

• Sri Lanka is not a conglomerate of provinces or regions. It is a single sovereign entity. Its territory is divided into several provinces, with provincial administration having the right to determine matters relating to the provinces within the above framework.

Areas of conflict

Sri Lanka is a single sovereign entity and not a conglomerate of Provinces or Regions.

Solution - PA position

Regional councils shall be established as specified below with effect from such date as the President shall appoint by order published in the gazette.

Western-Administrative District of Colombo excluding the Capital Territory, Administrative Districts of Gampaha and Kalutara.

Central-Administrative Districts of Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Matale.

Southern-Administrative Districts of Galle, Matara and Hambantota.

North Central-Administrative districts of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa.

North-Western-Administrative Districts of Puttalam and Kurunegala.

Sabaragamuwa-Administrative Districts of Ratnapura and Kegalle. 

Uva-Administrative Districts of Badulla and Moneragala. 

Sec. 127 

Referendum will be held in the Administrative Districts of Trincomalee and Batticaloa to enable the electors of those two districts to decide whether or not they should form one region with the Administrative Districts of Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya, Mannar and Mullaitivu. If the answer is yes with a majority of valid votes, the unit of devolution will be as follows:

North Eastern-Administrative Districts of Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mannar, Vavuniya, Mullaitivu, Trincomalee and Batticaloa.

UNP Position - 13th Amendment

Provinces - (Eighth Schedule)

Western-Administrative Districts of Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara.

North Western-Administrative Districts of Puttalam and Kurunegala.

Uva-Administrative Districts of Badulla and Moneragala.

Sabaragamuwa-Administrative Districts of Ratnapura and Kegalle.

Central-Administrative Districts of Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Matale.

Northern-Administrative Districts of Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mannar Vavuniya and Mullaitivu.

Eastern-Administrative Districts of Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Polling Divisions of Kalmunai, Sammanthurai, Pothuvil and Ampara.

Northern and Eastern Provinces were merged by then President under an emergency regulation with provision for a Referendum to be held after one year. No Referendum was held so far.

Areas of Conflict

• Merger of Northern and Eastern Provinces, before Referendum/after Referendum.

The Administrative Districts of Trincomalee and Batticaloa as provided for by paragraph (2) (b) (I) of Article 127.

South Eastern - Polling Division of Kalmunai, Sammanthurai and Pottuvil as provided for by paragraph (3) of Article 127.

If the answer is NO with a majority of valid votes the Unit of Devolution will be as follows:

Northern-Administrative Districts of Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mannar, Vavuniya and Mullaitivu as provided for by paragraph (2), (b), (11) of Article 127. 

Eastern-Administrative Districts of Trincomalee and Batticaloa, the Polling Divisions of Kalmunai, Sammanthurai and Pottuvil and the Polling Division of Ampara (constituting the Administrative District of Ampara as provided for by paragraph (4) (b) (II) of Article 127.

Where a Regional Council for the North-Eastern Region is established a referendum will be held in the polling division of Ampara to decide on the question whether or not such division should form a separate region (Region of Ampara).

All these formulas and draft constitutional provisions sound good and stir hopes, but what is needed is concrete actions that will at least make us to entertain real hopes.