Weekly Review
Sri Lanka Scene
18 August 2004
Southern conflicts hinder talks
by: T. Sabaratnam
The latest: JVP says there is no government proposal for the establishment of an interim body for the northeast! It says as far as it is concerned alternate proposals do not exist.
The JVP’s propaganda secretary Wimal Weerawansa told a seminar on Wednesday, “If there is any alternate proposal we would have known it. We are part of the Government. But we were not told of any such proposal.”
He said government Peace Secretariat chief Jayantha Dhanapala has talked about an alternate proposal. Dhanapala was only an official and officials cannot be policymakers.
Dhanapala said in Jaffna last week that the government had prepared alternate proposals and efforts are on to resume peace talks where the government’s and the LTTE proposals could be discussed.
President Chandrika Kumaratunga also spoke of the alternate proposal in a recent interview to United Press International (UPI). She said the LTTE was telling the international community that the government is not keen in setting up an interim administration for the northeast, but the government had prepared its own proposals for the first time.
“We have gone 75% of the way, but the Tigers are not willing to come the rest 25% of the way,” she said.
As usual she is trying to put the blame on the LTTE for the delay in the resumption of talks. But she is telling the truth when she spoke of the alternate proposals. They have been prepared on her instruction. She personally picked the legal team that prepared the proposal.
She told the legal team, comprising President Counsels Jayampathy Wickremaratne, M. M. Zuhair, Nihal Jayamane, Nigel Hatch, Attorney R. K. W. Goonesekera and Dr. Ranjith Amerasinghe, to prepare the alternate proposals and this team handed its draft to Dhanapala last Thursday, 12 August. Dhanapala gave it to Kumaratunga on the same day.
The basic structure of the alternate proposal was also leaked to the media. It provides for the setting up of an interim administrative council for the northeast in which the LTTE would have majority representation. It will also have government and Muslim representatives.
The constitution would be amended to make Sri Lanka a federal state. The list of powers over which the interim council will have authority had been spelt out. Unlisted powers would lie with the central government.
The government proposal does not confer full control over land to the interim council. Control over the land currently under the central government would continue to be under it. This is being done to retain the High Security Zones.
Maintenance of law and order in the northeast would be the responsibility of the interim body. Police would come under it. Defence, however, would be a subject of the central government. This would give the government an opportunity to demand the laying down of arms by the LTTE.
Finance would be under the central government. The interim body would be conferred the power of taxation on certain specified subjects.
A member of the legal team claimed the government proposal is a “vast improvement on the current provincial council system.” But the leaked information does not seem to substantiate his claim. Powers of land, defence establishment and finance are highly restricted.
The LTTE has already rejected the government’s alternate proposals. LTTE political head S. P. Thamilchelvan told the media on Saturday that the LTTE is not prepared to consider any other proposal.
He said, “The ISGA is a must,” and added, “We will not change our position on that.”
He said any discussion on a final settlemtn should be held after the ISGA had been made a reality.
“We need to first institutionalize the ISGA. While it is in operation we can talk about a final solution,” Thamilchelvan said.
The JVP and the National Bhikku Front are opposing the resumption of talks on the basis of the ISGA proposals. Weerawansa said on Wednesday that the JVP considers the interests of the country more important than the government.