The Sunday Times The Lobby

Wednesday’s debate on the emergency regulations came hot on the heels of the security forces victory in liberating the strategic town of Sampur and the opportunity was used by many MPs to praise the military for its courageous actions that helped secure a decisive win against the LTTE.

Amid the elation, there were also those who voiced caution against complacency in the face of this victory while some others urged the Government to move forward from here and continue the attacks to weaken the LTTE.

Tourism Minister Anura Bandaranaike was one of the speakers who warned against complacency. He had to tread carefully when he stood up to speak playing a balancing act while on the one hand praising the military victory and the role of President Mahinda Rajapaksa as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces and on the other hand cautioning against complacency in the face of the successes. “The battle cannot be won in the battle field alone. The battle must be won in winning the hearts and minds of the Tamil people,” Mr. Bandaranaike said.

He blamed the UNP and the SLFP for the tragic situation in the country.

“Both parties have, either consciously or unconsciously, contributed to this great tragedy that Sri Lanka has faced for the past 25 years by using the Tamil problem for political expediency,” Mr. Bandaranaike said.

His speech was a refreshing change from the voices of the extremist forces that have got louder and louder on all sides of the House while the voices of moderation have grown dimmer and dimmer.

The former Speaker said even if the LTTE was wiped out, the question why conservative, caste- conscious Hindus were pushed into taking arms would have to be addressed and said both he and his sister former President Chandrika Kumaratunga had advocated a federal solution to this crisis.

He welcomed the move by President Rajapaksa to invite the UNP to join the Government and said he hoped the UNP would respond in the same spirit and help find a solution to this cancerous ethnic conflict.

JVP parliamentary group leader Wimal Weerawansa’s views were in sharp contrast to those expressed by Mr. Bandaranaike.

Mr. Weerawansa asked President Rajapaksa to be courageous and abrogate the ceasefire agreement with the LTTE and not give in to international pressure to stop the military push against the LTTE.

“The President was courageous in signing an agreement with the JVP before the presidential election when his own party leader the then President Kumaratunga was placing various obstacles in Mr. Rajapaksa’s path. I ask him to have the same courage now to abolish the CFA,” he said.

The JVP MP said that by taking Sampur the security forces had destroyed the myth peddled around by NGOs and some politicians that this was an “un-winnable” war.

“It is only by destroying the murderous terror machinery of the LTTE that Tamils, Muslims and the Sinhalese can live together,” he said.

The UNP praised the security forces personnel for their sacrifices and bravery in securing Sampur but there were many questions the government had to address.

Gampaha district MP John Amaratunga made particular reference to the abductions that were taking place in and around Colombo and asked that steps be taken to stop them.

“We don’t know who is behind these abductions but they are similar to those that happened during the reign of terror in the late 1980s. Is that kind of dark period coming back to haunt us again,” he queried.With many of the senior TNA members not present in the House during the debate, Batticaloa district MP Tangeshwary Kadirgaman spoke on the humanitarian problems facing the people in the north and east and asked the government to ensure that the suffering people were provided with suffecient quantities of essential food, fuel and medicine.

Parliament also took an unprecedented step on Tuesday to make a temporary appointment of JVP MP Piyasiri Wijenaike as Deputy Chairman of Committees. The post fell vacant when the former member M. Satchianandan joined the government two weeks ago and was sworn in as a Deputy Minister.

The JVP nominated its national list MP Chandrasekaren Ramalingam for the post of Deputy Chairman of Committees but he was out of the country at the time.

The UNP too proposed the names of two of its MPs Mano Wijeratne and T. Maheswaran.

After the House sittings were suspended on three occasions by Speaker W.J.M. Lokubandara it was finally decided at a party leaders’ meeting that Mr. Wijenaike be appointed temporarily till such time Mr. Ramalingam returns to the country.