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lame duck President in peace waters Clearly, Kadirgamar, the man who was President Kumaratunga's sole representative in her government's negotiations with the LTTE from 1994-2000, has been sidelined. A lawyer who waged an almost single-handed battle against the LTTE in the courts of world governments, turning the tide of world opinion back in favour of the Sri Lankan government and thereby at least partly forcing the rebels to the negotiating table, is now a virtual embarrassment to the President. Wilting under pressure from the international aid donors, and the LTTE, she is now softening her stance vis-a-vis the LTTE and formulating a different team to meet the rebels. Her government is under a barrage of criticism for having Kadirgamar on board. LTTE leaders are holding press conferences by the week slamming him for making provocative and contradictory statements, while the faithful Tamil press is peppering him with editorials and cartoons. The appointment of Jayantha Dhanapala, a seasoned diplomat with not-so-well concealed ambitions of aiming for the UN's top job in 2007, to head the Peace Secretariat was a deft move to smother Kadirgamar's influence and grasp of things. Dhanapala's appointment came at the insistence of the President's siblings. His connections with the Bandaranaikes go back to Mrs. Sirimavo, though Kadirgamar got the flak for refusing his secondment to the UN Atomic Energy Agency when he was our envoy in Washington when in fact it was President Kumaratunga's decision. In style if not essentially in substance, the suave Dhanapala will be no passive head of the Peace Secretariat unlike his predecessor Bernard Gunathillake. And we did predict last week that a Kadirgamar-Dhanapala clash was inevitable more so given the fact that their personal relations, which were once excellent, plummeted over the last decade. As we also said last week, Finance Minister Sarath Amunugama is now expected to head the delegation for the talks with the LTTE which will comprise Mangala Samaraweera, M.M. Zuhair, Jayampathy Wickramaratne and unless he goes earlier as our ambassador to the UN, Nigel Hatch. As it is, the new government plans to have this team, backed by the support of the Peace Secretariat (Dhanapala & Co.,) do the talking, but report to a proposed National Peace and Reconciliation Council. This Council is to be a broader body, and what's on the minds of the leaders of the UPFA government is to co-opt the other parties (JVP,UNP,SLMC etc.,) and possibly sections of civil society in it without making it too unwieldly. Kadirgamar has been offered a place in this President Kumaratunga headed Council as a vice-chairman, Repeat, a vice chairman, not necessarily the vice chairman.To put things in perspective, Kadirgamar though sidelined from the peace process was not dropped, for he was never in it, and never intended to either. Back during the previous stint in office, Kadirgamar had indicated to the Norwegians that he will not be in the negotiating team. Maybe in the ante-room, but certainly not up front. He reiterated his position when the Norwegians discussed the re-commencement of the negotiating process in Nuwara Eliya over the Vesak weekend. He told Vidar Helgessen, the Norwegian deputy Foreign Minister to say so specifically to the LTTE, a message that was in fact delivered in the Wanni. But the issue is not so much whether Kadirgamar will be in the negotiating team, but about his own role in the peace process. The bigger picture, so to say.The interesting factor would be what the LTTE would say if they find the negotiating team must report to the Reconciliation Council, where Kadirgamar would be seated. Their question would be whether it is worth talking to a team that would get its proposals jettisoned by the Council. Then again, is the LTTE going to dictate how the Colombo government must do things ? They certainly are succeeding now with President Kumaratunga bending backwards to appease them, but is that the way it ought to be. As he was leaving this Wednesday's cabinet meeting which ended around 10.30 at night, Kadirgamar was flagged down by the President and told that she must meet him before he left over the weekend for London. When the two met on Friday night, Kadirgamar asked her where he stood. Did she want him in the Reconciliation Council, which could compromise her stance of appeasing the LTTE ? While no exact details of the discussion were immediately available, the President must surely have been hard pressed to say that she did not want him, which then would have put the onus back on Kadirgamar to take the lonely decision whether to opt out, or stay put. He would no doubt consult his new-found allies in the JVP who themselves feel somewhat betrayed by the recent somersaults of President Kumaratunga. When told by some of his friends that his recent statements seemed contradictory of his earlier tough line on the LTTE, and that he was losing his image among a wide spectrum as a cut above the run-of-the-mill or garden politician, Kadirgamar replied " but I can’t be the cat's paw of the chauvinists nor a prisoner of the past ". To an extent, Kadirgamar feels let down by the very people whom he fought so valiantly for - the Sinhalese-Buddhists and the President. The former ganged up to lobby against him and support Mahinda Rajapakse for the Premier stakes, while the President just dropped him like a hot potato by promising him the job and then sending some emissaries to tell him of her change of mind. Partly, Kadirgamar is to blame for some of this. For one, he believed in President Kumaratunga. And also, he allowed his image to be ruined by taking a partisan line in the run up to the election mainly as caretaker Information Minister when he looked the other way by allowing the State media mandarins (hand-in-glove with the JVP) to run amok, so blatantly propagandist and making vituperative statements even against the monks of the JHU. The unfortunate outcome of all this, is that the man who virtually single-handed, did so much and more for the Nation, has taken a tumble from the pedestal he was in, pushed down by the President he so believed in, and helped himself in the free-fall. But make no mistake, Kadirgamar is precious. Precious in that, arguably, there is no politician who has studied the LTTE so thoroughly, so well possessed of the facts, the nuances and above all , the genuine commitment towards a united Sri Lanka where all races live in peace and in harmony. Understandably, the man himself has come to a crossroads. It must be terrible to feel let down by the people whom you genuinely helped, but then that is the price all genuine politicians pay especially when they are defeated. Ranil Wickremesinghe must surely be feeling the same way. For the majority of Sri Lankans, it is also an important issue. Are they going to see the LTTE dictating terms to a lame duck President on how to conduct her negotiations? That is the question before them in the coming weeks. We now shift gear from the sidelining of an efficient politician to the dumping of an efficient official. It is not often that the walls of the most majestic piece of colonal architecture blithers as it did on Thursday last (May 6) when to all its occupants surprise, a letter was delivered to Deputy Secretary, Treasury, Faiz Mohideen, one of the finer public servants of this country, asking him to go and just like that. The building in question is the old Parliament building by the Beira where the Treasury department is now housed. Although the following day many executives and staff of the Treasury trickled into his office as if the roof had fallen over them expressing their shock and disbelief at the turn of events, they were surprised to find the man in trouble, true to his competence and intellect carrying on his duties as usual, unmoved and unfazed. While all the visitors and callers were spelling doom and asking for revenge, the man himself would have nothing of it remaining calm and composed as if it was a call of duty, to get the sack. His crime? His successor did not want any official who had worked with the previous regime in his team! Perhaps, Mohideen's nemesis was the 1st law of the "48 laws of power". "Never outshine the master". The law elaborates to say "always make those above you feel comfortably superior. In your desire to please and impress them, do not go too far in displaying your talents or you might accomplish the opposite - inspire fear and insecurity. Make your masters appear more brilliant than they are and you will attain heights of power". Faiz Mohideen after his secondary education at Trinity College graduated with 1st class honours from the London School of Economics completing his Masters in Econometrics. On his return, he entered Government Service joining the Ministry of Planning from where he was seconded to the General Treasury. It was during the previous PA regime that Mohideen was appointed DST after having headed the External Resources Department for nearly 5 years as its Director General. Respected for his wide knowledge and quick decision making, he was known in Treasury circles to be ferociously independent, devoid of political leanings and outspoken to the extent that he was roundly attacked by many a politician for his forthright views he stoutly defended even if it was at the cost of his job. It was an open secret that the new Treasury Secretary never hit it off with Faiz Mohideen even during the previous PA regime as the latter has shown his displeasure to the political leanings in decision making. It came as no surprise to those at the Treasury therefore, that with the appointment of Dr. P.B. Jayasundara as Treasury Secretary, by the UPFA, it would be "closed doors" for Mohideen. Thirty years of commitment now lie embedded and wasted in the Public Service Pool, a.k.a. as "Siberia". The Central Bank report for 2003, just released gives ample evidence of the fiscal prudence with which the Treasury was run by Charitha Ratwatte, Secy Treasury and Faiz Mohideen his erstwhile deputy. A leading economist of the Central Bank, said "the 2 years of the UNF govt. must go down as the resurgence of rational economics that saved the country from the depths of depravity and destruction". He asked "how can the UPFA govt's fiscal policies be trusted with the same people who for the first time in the history of independent Sri Lanka, drove the economy down to register negative growth". It is reported that Sarath Amunugama was not aware (he was in Korea) of the special Cabinet paper that was drafted asking for Faiz Mohideen's dismissal. It is a very rare occurrence that a Cabinet paper is put up for sanction and ratification on the very same day. Usually, Cabinet papers are ratified the following week but in this case, it was not to be. Pray, what was the indecent hurry ? It is understood that Faiz Mohideen said farewell to his colleagues and his Minister on his return and will now languish in the 'pool' much to the merriment of those who went for his jugular whereas the country has lost the services of one of its better men. Sarath Amunugama - the Minister, should have stood his ground and not allowed Faiz Mohideen to be dumped for he has not committed any known crime. The Minister has let the side down, and the public service of which he himself was once a member, down, to say the least and sent a silent message that there is nothing much he can do when the orders come from the top. The question now is whether Amunugama is a mere rubber stamp at the Finance Ministry. It was during the UNF govt. period that Minister S.B. Dissanayake crossed swords with the Treasury and called their senior officials as "Treasury Harak" clearly attacking thereby both Charitha Ratwatte, ST and Faiz Mohideen, DST. On another occasion, Prime Ministerial Advisor R. Paskaralingam answering a question from the press said "ask Faiz" hinting that Mohideen is the impediment to have monies passed, for the headline-grabbing initiatives of the former. Humiliation of Public officials by politicians has become endemic in our society. How long public officials will suffer such indignity is now of serious concern to the Public Administration community. The dangerous message in this case is that when one cannot work with the officials of the previous regime they should be sent home. Does this mean that each time a regime changes, the officials who worked hard for the regime gone, should go? This indeed would create a new dimension to public service and increase the level of boot-licking which pervades every level of public life. Effective public servants are today, far and few. Decision makers are, even fewer. India is one success story where public officials override politicians. Governments may change but the bureaucracy tags along and lends advice to the new incumbents on the rules and regulations of administration in the best interest of the country. It has been the practice after every general election in recent times that the winning party go hounding out officials claiming they were lackeys of the other side but this has never affected the Treasury previously. The irony of it is, the UNF govt. retained the services of Dr. Jayasundara after taking power in 2001. And what of the new Cabinet? Should they not at least have heard their colleague - the Minister of Finance, on this?. The Management guru Lawrence Peter in his book the "peter principle; why things go wrong" suggested that in a hierarchy, individuals tend to rise to their level of incompetence. In the public service, employees are routinely promoted on seniority until they end up in a job they were unable to do. There, they would remain bungling much to the detriment of the departments they serve. Mohideen was the exception. When a friend asked Mohideen whether he is upset about being thrown into the "pool" he quipped; " one has to learn to swim, if not sink". It appears he has now sunk into retirement.
Bhaila, Plays the Parliament Tunes More than the day, it was the night that Bhaila will never forget, as Mangala Samaraweera threw a special birthday party for Bhaila at his Hill House residence. The small but grand private party, which went on into the early hours of the next day, became grander with the arrival of an unexpected guest. Just as the clock at the Samaraweera residence marked the dawn of midnight President Kumaratunga walked in and wished an exuberant Bhaila. President Kumaratunga who is playing a low profile role in the current political scene has become suddenly media shy and is hardly seen in any media confab. But away from the public glare and away from other political duties she is running the peace process machinery at full throttle. This two-pronged strategy will provide her government with the necessary political stability within parliament while it will win back some international confidence towards her. The UPFA seems to be having weapons of all types in their arsenal these days. One of them was used as a sort of dirty weapon against Hakeem in the Kumari fiasco, but they are using a much more advanced SMART weapon in the form of Tiran Alles to get back the peace process on track. A close associate of Mano Tittawela, Tiran Alles is a businessman who was the first to win LTTE backing to start the sale of mobile phones to the North and East after the signing of the MOU between the government and the LTTE. Since then he has built good contacts with many political parties and now he has successfully penetrated into the internal structure of the JVP. The same man was assigned the task to establish a direct link between the LTTE and President Chandrika Kumaratunga. For his services he has been appointed new deputy chairman of Airport and Aviation Services Ltd. The logic of it may be that he is also expected to play the role of "Taxi Abey" who during the UNF rule was supposed to be the coordinator between the government and LTTE teams whenever they were in Colombo or going overseas for peace talks. Meanwhile, the government has also created a new position of managing director in the Civil Aviation Authority to accommodate Gampaha District defeated UPFA candidate Shalith Wijesundera. The Cold War within the UPFA still continues as heads keep rolling out from the big picture. Mangala Samaraweera seems to be the latest casualty. The mastermind behind plan 18, the master plan drafted by the PA to oust the UNF regime two years ago and the architect of the SLFP JVP linkage seems to be facing a huge axing from his own party. After almost a decade he has been removed from the parliamentary group leaders team that met in parliament. Also Mr. Samaraweera feeling the isolationist approach taken towards him by his colleagues has even resorted to miss many of the important UPFA meetings including the meetings of the central and executive committees. Politics of third world states are always hard to read and can be disastrous for individuals who seek to get involved. It may become worse in the case of South Asia. The fall of the BJP government is a classic example of this Karmic tragedy. It is a devilish possession where exorcism comes at a huge price. |
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