"Behind
closed
doors:
Norwegian
Ambassador
Hans
Brattskar
handing
overa cheque for Rs. 11.1 million to JVP Minister Vijitha Herath on Friday
to purchase library books for 120 cultural centres in the country."
by Sunday Leader Editorial, December 5, 2004
Sri Lanka's tragic fate took yet another twist last week, with the government demonstrating yet again that it doesn't have a clue what it is going to do to address the National Question. Two and a half years after the event, the international euphoria that greeted the government-LTTE ceasefire agreement and MOU seem a distant memory. Few care now to remember the series of tragic military debacles that claimed the lives of sixty thousand citizens; the horrific acts that brought down the Central Bank, laid waste to the national airline, wrecked investment and enterprise, and set ablaze the Sapugaskanda refinery. The assassinations of Ranasinghe Premadasa, Lalith Athulathmudali, Gamini Dissanayake and Ranjan Wijeratne are long forgotten, as are the bloodthirsty massacres of thousands of innocents. The roadblocks, the deserted hotels and the international condemnation are all things of the past.
Even
in
the
sunny
days
of
early
2002,
when
pots
of
gold
at
the
ends
of
countless
rainbows
were
a
dime
a
dozen,
no
one
thought
for
a
moment
that
negotiations
with
the
LTTE
would
be
a
cakewalk.
No
one
thought
for
a
moment
that
Velupillai
Pirapaharan,
the
author
of
countless
assassinations
and
massacres,
and
brilliant
military
strategist,
would
be
a
pushover.
On
the
other
hand,
it
is
unlikely
that
the
Tigers
were
naive
enough
to
believe
that
a
woman
who
spent
her
idle
hours
chatting
up
her
ministers
on
the
need
to
kill
an
editor
or
two,
would
be
likely
to
bow
to
the
dictates
of
conscience
when
something
as
inconsequential
as
the
national
interest
was
at
stake.
Goodness
knows
that
Ranil
Wickremesinghe
did
not
have
an
easy
time
after
signing
the
ceasefire
agreement
and
MOU.
His
gamble
was
that
peace,
accompanied
by
a
return
to
normalcy
of
a
nation
that
had
grown
tired
of
war,
would
result
in
people
pressing
the
government
and
the
LTTE
to
engage
in
carving
out
a
negotiated
settlement.
He
was,
of
course,
wrong.
Having
won
peace,
the
people
were
either
just
happy
to
get
on
with
their
lives
in
the
expectation
that
the
status
quo
would
last
indefinitely,
or,
for
groups
such
as
the
Hela
Urumaya
and
JVP,
quick
to
advocate
"solutions"
that
would
invite
a
new
war,
to
be
fought,
of
course,
by
other
mothers'
sons.
Closing
on
three
years
since
the
ceasefire,
the
LTTE
is
clearly
growing
restless.
While
Sri
Lanka
has
benefited
enormously
(this
has
been
the
best
tourist
season
the
country
has
known
since
the
1980s),
the
Tamils
of
the
north
and
east
have
been
left
picking
up
the
crumbs.
The
$4.5
billion
in
aid
pledged
to
Sri
Lanka
is
contingent
on
progress
on
the
peace
talks,
and
therefore
has
been
suspended
ever
since
Kumaratunga
wrested
three
ministries
from
the
UNF
government,
at
the
same
time
in
effect
throwing
a
spanner
in
the
peace
process.
This
being
so,
and
even
while
the
north-east
has
been
opened
to
all
Sri
Lankans
for
the
first
time
in
two
decades,
there
has
in
effect
been
little
peace
dividend
for
the
island's
north-easterners.
The
region's
health,
education
and
communications
infrastructure
are
in
shambles
and
civil
administration
entirely
in
the
hands
of
the
LTTE.
We
may
gripe
about
it
from
afar,
but
the
fact
is
that
the
Tigers
are
now
better
poised
than
ever
unilaterally
to
declare
an
administration
of
their
own,
not
going
so
far
as
to
claim
sovereignty.
That
would
merely
serve
to
legalise
the
status
quo
(giving
the
government
no
real
case
to
return
to
war)
while
ensuring
that
there
is
no
case
for
foreign
intervention.
Now, having grown tired of waiting, Pirapaharan has said finally that with the government being in the mess it is, neither a final nor an interim solution is a real prospect. While no deadline was given for the resumption of hostilities, he has taken the high ground by saying that he is ready to discuss the terms of the ISGA with the government. This led to the JVP not only stating that it would take its 39 MPs out of the government, but also that it would precipitate a youth rebellion once more in the south. It seems that the JVP's youth are good only at slaughtering unarmed innocents, staying as far away from the northern front as they can.
The JVP's letter to the Norwegians, in effect showing them the door too, has put a cat amongst the pigeons. If nothing else, it has demonstrated to the world at large that a third of the MPs Kumaratunga claims to control in parliament have broken loose, making their own rules. Clearly, the Norwegians took the affront seriously, for they sought a written clarification from the government. For its part, the government's reply only underlined international misgivings, for it neither condemned nor apologised for the JVP's outrageous conduct but simply said it did not reflect the views of the government. In other words,it did not reflect the views of the 55 SLFP MPs as opposed to the JVP's 39. Some government.
If
war
is
not
now
imminent,
it
seems
inevitable.
It
is
time
then,
to
ask
whether
Vimukthi
Kumaratunga
too,
will
be
conscripted
with
thousands
of
other
youth,
to
go
and
die
on
the
northern
front.
Will
he
become
the
first
Bandaranaike
not
just
to
die
for
his
country,
but
even
to
fight
for
it?
And
if
war
does
break
out,
responsibility
for
it
lies
with
one
person
only:
Chandrika
Kumaratunga.
It
was
her
greed
for
power,
her
insatiable
appetite
for
personal
gain,
that
led
to
her
not
just
usurping
office
from
the
UNF,
but
throwing
in
her
lot
with
the
JVP.
Now
she
is
stuck.
She
cannot
forge
a
peace
because
the
JVP
will
not
let
her.
If
she
shows
the
JVP
the
door,
she
will
once
more
be
flung
out
of
office.
On
the
other
hand,
with
the
JVP
in
tow,
there
does
not
appear
to
be
any
chance
of
peace,
and
the
drift
towards
armed
conflict
has
begun.
Thousands
are
about
to
die,
the
economy
wrecked
and
civil
liberties
curtailed
just
to
feed
the
insatiable
appetite
of
one
woman
grimly
to
clutch
on
to
office,
whatever
the
cost
to
her
country.
"Behind
closed
doors:
Norwegian
Ambassador
Hans
Brattskar
handing
over
a
cheque
for
Rs.
11.1
million
to
JVP
Minister
Vijitha
Herath
on
Friday
to
purchase
library
books
for
120
cultural
centres
in
the
country."
Now, once more, Kumaratunga's obsession is to settle herself in the saddle for another six years. To this end, it is more than likely that she will call a referendum early in the new year, and it goes without saying that that will be rigged to the gills. That is the very reason Kumaratunga refuses to appoint the Independent Elections Commission. Like her mother before her, Kumaratunga is most unlikely to quit office until she is physically thrown out. When it comes to their thirst for power, the Bandaranaikes have been like limpets: they have to be prised out of their seats, so much have they become accustomed to living it up at the expense of the public purse.
Last April, Kumaratunga took the entire country for a ride. That ride is about to cost this nation an arm and a leg (literally). She is now a captive of the JVP, singing their dismal song, albeit through clenched teeth: the Bandaranaikes are not lightly scorned. She is fast approaching that watershed when, however, if she does not call the JVP's bluff, the people will call hers. And that will be the day of her comeuppance.
As
the
saying
goes,when
you
sow
with
the
wind,you
reap
the
whirlwind.