The Political Column

21st May 1999

Country is on the boil

By our Political Correspondent

These realities prompt one to question the manner in which the war has been prosecuted for the past 17 years. Who is to be blamed? Is it the parochial-minded politicians who have misgoverned the country for narrow political gain?

The agitation of Tamils gathered momentum in the mid 1950s when the S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike government introduced the Sinhala Only Act, giving little or no thought to Tamil aspirations. The later governments used violent means to crush the non-violent agitation of the Tamils without attempting to find a political solution to the Tamil problem. Of course there were moves such as the Bandaranaike-Chelvanayakam Pact, the Dudley-Chelvanayakam pact and the District Development Councils system. But these measures fell far short of meeting Tamil aspirations. They in fact fell on the wayside in the face of stiff opposition from Sinhala hard-liners and a section of the Buddhist clergy.

The strong-arm tactics only helped to worsen the situation. In the late 1970s, Tamil youth movements resorted to an armed struggle, as they believed that nothing could be achieved through peaceful means. Tamil politicians in the Jaffna peninsula gave the impetus to this idea through the Vaddukkoddai Convention, which formalised the Tamil cry for a separate state.

Today, we have reached a point of bitter realisation that the Tamil agitation cannot be crushed militarily. Even those who agree that terrorism should be crushed by military means say only a political solution could solve the problem.

In the early 80s, when President J. R. Jayewardene picked Brigadier Tissa Weeratunga and gave him a warrant under his hand to crush terrorism in the north within six months, the matter became worse. It virtually ended up in a military quagmire with the rebel rank and file growing in strength. Today 17 years after the war broke out, we regret for not being wise in the 1950s, in the 1960s and in the 1970s.

Prabhakaran has brought the war to our own doorstep. Everyone in the country is either directly or indirectly affected by the war.

In this backdrop, President Chandrika Kumaratunga summoned an all-party conference at the Presidential Secretariat where she invited divergent views from political party representatives. She conducted the conference efficiently accommodating a larger spectrum of views while also presenting her case effectively.

The way she handled the meeting showed that she was in full control of the situation -- a leadership quality required at this time of crisis.

When some Tamil party participants said it was due to the LTTE that the government had come so far down to resolve the ethnic issue or to bring about a reasonable solution to the Tamil problem, she did not agree, though there is some truth in what the Tamil party representatives said. It is because of the LTTE that the government put the country on a war footing. It is because of the LTTE that we are being taxed to meet the huge defence expenditure. It was because of the pangs of war that we felt the need for a political solution. Aren't a majority of us now feeling that this war should stop?

As Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar pointed out on Tuesday, LTTE supremo Prabhakaran should stop this war and tell himself that, "I have fought a good battle, but it must be stopped and I must seek a politically negotiated settlement."

As Mr. Kadirgamar said, there cannot be a separate state within Sri Lanka. "No sovereign state will recognise a separate state in this country, least of all India. I hope he sees this reality," Mr. Kadirgamar said.

He also said the scenario today was different to that of 1983. In a way what Minister Kadirgamar said was correct. But he has overlooked the fact that in 1987 we reached a near settlement which was scuttled by misguided and power-hungry politicians and Sinhala hard-liners.

What is disturbing is that the government has failed to offer something acceptable to the Tamils even after six years in office. The 1987 Jayewardene solution which was a direct result of the Indian intervention was deplored and condemned by the then SLFP. Today the same SLFP is seeking assistance from the UNP to solve the problem.

Has the government given any serious thought to expand the scope of devolution as envisaged in the 13th Amendment. Many believe this is the easiest way out if a speedy solution is to be found.

As Minister Kadirgamar says, today the Indian offer for mediation is on the table, but Sri Lanka has still not approached India in this regard. But if the LTTE succeeds, what would happen? The whole political scenario will change. India would not tolerate any force inimical to its interest at the northern tip. So in the event of the LTTE success in Jaffna, India's intervention is inevitable.

It is also feared that the LTTE would eliminate those who supported the Colombo government. This may include government servants and supporters of political parties such as the EPDP, PLOTE and the EPRLF -- groups that are backing the government. The Jaffna civilians also fear that the LTTE will once again tax them heavily and force their children to join the group.

Meanwhile, the mood in Tamilnadu is slowly turning against the LTTE.

Tamilnadu Chief Minister and DMK leader M. Karunanidhi recently told the State Assembly that the DMK had distanced itself from the LTTE after it murdered important Tamil Eelam leaders such as A. Amirthalingam of the TULF, Sabaratnam of TELO, K. Pathmanaba of the EPRLF and Uma Maheswaran of PLOTE.

"How can a movement which had killed the leaders of its own race save Tamils from annihilation" he asked.

Mr. Karunanidhi said that in 1986 when he wanted to distribute some monies collected in connection with his birthday equally among all the Sri Lankan Tamil groups, the LTTE refused to receive its share. He said this was the kind of link we had with the LTTE.

The Tamilnadu state government also banned a meeting by the LTTE supporters at Chidambaram on May 7. Mr. Karunanidhi said it showed the government's commitment to prevent the LTTE supporters from holding such meetings in support of the outlawed organisation.

The chief minister said the organizers who had originally planned the meeting to support the cause of the Sri Lankan Tamils had tried to change the agenda of the meeting to hail the LTTE's victory at Elephant Pass. Mr. Karunanidhi sounded a warning note that the LTTE would be inimical to the Indian interest if it took over the Jaffna peninsula.

The UNP also had an all-party conference last week at a committee room in the parliamentary complex. Though most of the constituent parties of the PA did not attend, there was a sizable representation of political parties. Among those who attended the conference were representatives of the TELO, EPDP, PLOTE, and the SLMC, two defeated presidential candidates, Muslim and Hindu religious leaders, Bishop Kenneth Fernando and officials of the Friedrich Neumann Foundation. The notable absentees were the representatives of the Asgiriya and Malwatta Chapters.

The conference opened with UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe making a statement on the prevailing situation. The conference agreed on the need to set up an all-party advisory committee on disaster management and another committee to discuss the present war situation.

It was also decided that all emergency regulations which are not relevant to the war should be removed, for the benefit of the people.

But the meeting took a different course when TELO leader N. Srikantha said if anybody thought that Prabhakaran could be defeated, it was a myth. "Though he had eliminated our people and he does not have any sympathy towards any other political group, his presence cannot be ignored in this conflict. He is a formidable force," Mr. Srikantha urged the government to stop the war and hold negotiations.

Mr. Sirikantha's remarks apparently irked UNP's Sarath Kongahage. He said democracy had been stifled in this country mainly because of Prabhakaran's dastardly acts.

He said: "It appears that we are scared to talk about him. Prabhakaran has destroyed democracy. It is he who is responsible for the misery of Sri Lankans, including the Tamils. He is formidable no doubt. A French magazine recently revealed how formidable Mr. Prabhakaran is. He is a person who drains out the blood of the enemy until the last drop is taken and the man drops dead. This is the kind of atrocity he has committed to some of the prisoners of war and we are all silent about these cruel acts.

"All of us talk about bringing Prabhakaran to the negotiating table. Have we not forgotten that Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi brought him to the negotiating table; President J.R. Jayewardene brought him to the negotiating table. But what did he do? He knows no common decency. He masterminded the killing of Rajiv Gandhi and President Premadasa. He has killed some 22 MPs. Can you mention any other country which has a man who had killed 22 MPs?"

Mr. Kongahage said if democracy was to be established here Prabhakaran and his LTTE marauders should be defeated. "The war is winnable and we should go in that direction. Quoting Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, Mr. Kongahage said: "It is not peace at any cost, it is victory at any cost. Without victory there is no survival," he said.

Mr. Kongahage's diatribe was greeted with loud applause. Most UNP MPs said that Mr. Kongahage spoke what was in their minds. But some observers say that Mr. Kongahage took the UNP leadership by surprise as his remarks were quite different to the official UNP stance which called for negotiations with the LTTE.

The UNP also convened a special parliamentary group meeting to urge the government to summon the parliament every week. The UNP leadership believes that the objectives of the government cannot be achieved through war while the others talk about the shortcomings of the war.

At this meeting, too, Mr. Kongahage said he did not know when the UNP came to the conclusion that the government's objectives of weakening the LTTE could not be achieved through military means. "What we said was that Kumaratunga government has mismanaged the war. It was Chandrika who said the war is not winnable, not we. It appears that we have apparently swapped our views," he said.

Though the two main parties held separate all-party conferences, they continue to meet to discuss constitutional reforms.

At the last PA-UNP meeting, the two sides led by their leaders discussed a problematic area -- land. President Kumaratunga said that land is the problem area of the Tamils. The President said land should be handled by the centre. But she called for the UNP's suggestions to compare its view with that of those who say land should be a matter for the regional councils.

Lands Minister D.M. Jayaratne said: "We have to think about the South also." UNP Chairman Karu Jayasuriya and UNP General Secretary Gamini Atukorale also supported this view. Thereafter, the President appointed a sub-committee consisting of members from both sides to look into the matter.

The President also referred to the main LTTE demand for a Tamil homeland in Sri Lanka.

In a lighter vein she said Muslims would also soon ask for a homeland.

Minister M. H. M. Ashraff told the President that the Muslims had not even thought of it. But the President said that she was only joking.

Members of the two delegations were shocked when Minister Indika Gunawardena spoke about the existence of a nudist colony at Padukka.

Tourism Minister Dharmasiri Senanayake took it lightly though it was mentioned that a leading UNPer was behind the nudist colony. The two delegations decided to assign Ministers Ratnasiri Wickremanayake and Indika Gunawardena and UNP Mahinda Samarasinghe to look into the matter as their constituencies are close to Padukka.

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