Political Column

Political Column

CBK consults Sri Sai Baba: What ever will be, will be
By a special correspondent
President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga's official cum unofficial visit to India was as dramatic as it was significant. It got off to a flying start much in keeping with the President's attitude or approach. She made it known that she was not keen on driving to the airport and going through the VIP formalities. Though some reasons were given by her advisors or insiders, others are best known to her.

Anyway, she gave orders to the Air Force and a Bell 412 helicopter was accordingly kept ready at the Air Force headquarters grounds to take her to the airport. Joining her there was a 14-member team including international affairs advisor Lakshman Kadirgamar, his wife Suganthi, Presidential Secretary Kusumsiri Balapatabendi and most significantly, NUA leader Ferial Ashraff.

Though somewhat dethroned and marginalised since the UNF government took office, the President still maintains a commanding attitude with characteristic twists and turns. While on the helicopter, she directed the pilot to take the helicopter conveniently if not dangerously close to the waiting SriLankan Airlines plane to Chennai. There, too, some of the reasons were known only to her, but one reason apparently was that she was in line with the SriLankan's flight code - UL or usually late.

The Presidential helicopter landed just ten minutes before the Chennai flight was to take off. Characteristically, President Kumaratunga turned down the offer for a vehicle to take her from the helicopter to the plane. She walked the distance.

In Chennai, she was greeted by the Tamil Nadu Finance Minister and the Sri Lanka's High Commissioner. Though she avoided the motorcade in Colombo, the President could not apparently ask for the same helicopter privilege in another person's country. So she was driven in a motorcade to the Governor's residence, Rajbhavan, where Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha Jeyaram was waiting for her eagerly and warmly with a bunch of white roses, especially obtained from North India.

The President and the Chief Minister -- both stormy petrels and sharing a lot in common these days, including an antipathy towards the LTTE -- had a two-and-half hour dialogue over a 'Siver' lunch. According to insiders, they critically analyzed various aspects of the ongoing peace process and the situation in Sri Lanka.

Before the President met the chief minister, the Tamil Nadu leader had been given the Sri Lankan government perspective by peace negotiator Milinda Moragoda who had a lengthy meeting with her in Chennai.

After the official talks which produced no official communique or much more in concrete terms, the President had two personal engagements which formed an important part of her mission. She first went to the Tirupathy kovil, known to be Hinduism's most hallowed shrine for devotions and whatever else. The next day, she met another important personality. Brother Anura Bandaranaike is known to be an ardent devotee of that personality though some reported prophesies after their earlier meeting have been a little off the mark.

President Kumaratunga flew to Puttrapathy where she had a special appointment and a long personal conversation with Sathya Shri Sai Baba. Those within earshot say the conversation was largely personal while the Hindu holy man advised the President to wait patiently till her time came.

Then the time came for the President to fly from Chennai to New Delhi where her office had arranged meetings with former Premier Inder Kumar Gujral, and an important briefing from retired Indian General Satish Nambiar, who officially studied the issues regarding security zones in the north. Insiders said the President expressed strong views to General Nambiar regarding the high security zones. She has insisted that any move to dismantle or reduce these zones would pose a threat to Sri Lanka's security.

Later she met opposition leader Sonia Gandhi and India's President Abdul Kalam before summing it all up at all-important talks with India's Premier Atal Behari Vajpayee.

While Sri Lankans celebrate the National New Year tomorrow, one of the biggest New Year presents will be prepared at an important meeting in Washington, arranged specially by the US government. US Secretary of State Colin Powell in an unprecedented step, had personally written to more than 30 countries and international organisations inviting top-level representation for a meeting to work out an aid package to rebuild Sri Lanka.

Big as it is, this meeting will be only a preparation for the massive international donor conference to be held in Tokyo in June. US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Armitage -- closely and personally involved in the peace process and the rebuilding of Sri Lanka -- will preside at the Washington meeting. The key figure from Sri Lanka will be Economic Reforms Minister and Peace negotiator Milinda Moragoda who is accompanied by a top level delegation, including Treasury Secretary Charitha Ratwatte, Central Bank Chief A. S. Jayawardena and Sri Lanka's Ambassador Devinda Subasinghe.

Arrangements have been made for a 'kevum-kokis' tea break at the Washington aid conference followed by a special New Year get-together at the residence of Ambassador Subasinghe.

Besides the aid conference, the Sri Lankan delegation also has many other VIP appointments. They will be meeting UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to brief him on the peace process and discuss a major role for the UN in the consolidation and rebuilding programme. The team will also meet World Bank Chief James Wolfensons and go to the White House for a meeting with a senior member of the National Security Council.

Despite world attention on the war in Iraq, the United States has found the time to host an aid conference for Sri Lanka and is giving priority to the peace process here, reiterating the importance that the Bush administration is giving to its links with a little Indian Ocean island.

US Ambassador Ashly Wills who has played a key role in taking the US-Lanka relationship to where it is, paid a few interesting courtesy calls before leaving the country on completion of his term. One of those was a surprisingly long and warm meeting with PA frontliner Anura Bandaranaike who in recent months has hammered out openly at US policy on the Sri Lankan issue.

The Rosmead Place meeting over wine and dinner covered various issues but centred on the peace process. Mr. Wills reportedly told Mr. Bandaranaike he believed the PA should in no way undermine the peace process, but Mr. Bandaranaike avoided a direct answer by saying the President had made the PA's position clear.

The ambassador was also not happy about moves for a merger between the SLFP and the JVP, but Mr. Bandaranaike who is known to be a key player in that operation, said he believed it was a progressive step. On a personal note, Mr. Bandaranaike who is known to travel regularly to Los Angeles described the Californian capital as his second home and such warm sentiments helped to bring the meeting with Mr. Wills to a happy ending.

Another interesting diplomatic encounter was the farewell meeting between President Kumaratunga and controversial Norwegian Ambassador Jon Westborg whom the President had directly attacked and was even thinking of throwing out of the country.
Again the farewell was on a positive note -- somewhat in a spirit of forgiving and forgetting.

The rivals wished each other well and exchanged pleasantries at a tea party. Mr. Westborg, playing a key role in the peace process again asked the President and the PA to throw their weight behind the peace initiative. The President put aside her reservations or resentments and thanked Norway for all it had done and was doing.
In that spirit, Mr. Westborg reminded the President of the high esteem in which Oslo still held her. He recalled that Norway had invited the President to address the prestigious Nobel Peace Committee and asked the President why she had declined the invitation.

In the warm mood of a farewell meeting, the President brushed aside that rejection and said if the invitation was still open she was ready to come in November.
In happier times when the then all powerful President Kumaratunga was leading a war for peace, the prophetic Arthur Clerke had said she might get the Nobel peace prize in the near future. But that seems to be a distant dream now with Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe appearing to be well ahead in that race.

With an open clash at Puttalam taking the crisis within Sri Lanka's main Muslim party to new proportions, both sides are hitting harder than ever before. In the latest move, the Ataullah faction met Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and made several requests. They wanted a full cabinet portfolio for the faction and a bigger say in Eastern affairs including the allocation of financial resources. Mr. Wickremesinghe trying to delicately balance approach to this crisis assured the Ataullah faction that he would consider their grievances.

Mundaogas at bargain prices had been promised and promised for months and years that many people dismissed the whole operation as just letting off some gas. But what came late was perhaps a little better than what could have come earlier.
It was a big show at Galle attended by no less than three ministers and Mundo boss Ariaysheela Wickremanayake.

They brought about 60 selected distributors there and gave them some 20,000 cylinders of Mundogas to be sold countrywide at Rs. 175 less than the price of the market leader Shell and Rs. 100 less than the second players Laugfs. Naturally, the political and economic preasure from the two major player was intense. But Consumer Affairs Minister Ravi Karunanayake appears to be ready to take on the giants. He dropped a bombshell by announcing that the new Consumer Protection Authority Law gave him the power to authorise any gas distributor to give the cut rate Munda gas even in Shell or Laugfs cylinders. It was good news for consumers for the New Year, but court cases and other battles are likely in Sri Lanka's gas war.

Minister Karunanayake, an accountant, also let off some gas at the cabinet meeting on Wednesday. It happened when Finance Minister K. N. Choksy presented proposals for the generally under-rated public service clerks to be raised to a new status as chartered managers. Mr. Karunanayake was horrified. He said chartered titles were given by recognised academic institutions and they should not be undermined. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe backed by Ministers Karu Jayasuriya and Karunasena Kodituwakku said the matter needed to be studied further.- Courtesy Sunday Lankadeepa

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