Political Column

Last Wednesday President Mahinda Rajapaksa was busy with many an official chore. He had to chair a meeting of the National Security Council in the morning and the weekly Cabinet meeting in the evening. There were many other engagements in between.

During late afternoon hours he was interrupted by an overseas call. Operators at Temple Trees said it was from Norway's Minister for International Development, Erik Solheim - the Norwegian dignitary who overlooks the peace process in Sri Lanka. He asked that the call be put through.

Solheim said the Rajapaksa Government should stop the military action. President Rajapaksa replied "you should tell that to the LTTE. I did not start the war. It is they who have done that." As the conversation continued, Solheim repeated his call again, this time to stop the air raids by the Air Force on Tiger guerrilla positions in the North and East. President Rajapaksa was firm. He said Solheim should first get the LTTE to restore water from the Mavil Aru reservoir anicut to the farmers in Batticaloa north. More than 30,000 acres of their paddy, about to be harvested, were threatened. Moreover they had no water for their use. Bowsers were now supplying them. He said the Government could then talk about other matters.

Hardly a couple of hours after the telephone conversation, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry had issued a statement. The highlight:

"During the past few days, the parties to the Sri Lanka Ceasefire Agreement, the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), have engaged in intensive military operations following the LTTE's closure of the water supply from the LTTE-controlled area to the government-controlled area. The situation is deadlocked and could easily lead to an escalation of the armed conflict. The hostilities violate the 2002 Ceasefire Agreement.

"Norway urges the immediate cessation of hostilities on both sides in order to pave the way for negotiations aimed at resolving the water dispute. The LTTE must reopen the water supply to prevent further civilian suffering and damage to crops, and both parties' military forces must withdraw to the positions they held when they entered into the Ceasefire Agreement in 2002," said Minister of International Development Erik Solheim.

The tenor and content of the statement angered Government leaders. Firstly, they said that Mavil Aru anicut was not in LTTE-controlled area. That was why it was possible for engineers of the Irrigation Department to go there periodically and open or close the sluice gates. Secondly, the statement that both parties must withdraw to the positions they held when they entered the CFA in 2002. Since, the Government had unimpeded access to the Mavil Aru anicut area, there was no question of the security forces withdrawing. It was argued that Norway, the peace facilitator, had no right to make such a demand.

The Sunday Times learnt the issue was raised with Norway through diplomatic channels. The Government's displeasure over the contents of the statement was made clear.

That was to prompt the Foreign Minister, Mangala Samaraweera to address the Colombo-based diplomatic community. He said the blocking of water at Mavil Aru has deprived the harvest of poor villagers. Some 30,000 acres were affected. In addition drinking water was also not made available as a result to villagers in Mutur, Seruvila and Echalampattu.

"The Government was left with no option but to use legitimate force to provide security cover to the irrigation officials to restore the water supply. This is not an offensive operation on any military or other target but a judicious use of force to ensure that objects and services indispensable to the survival of the civilian population are available," he said.

Samaraweera added: "Security forces' activity including the air cover for this operation was clearly to facilitate this task and not to embark on any new offensive action. The air operations were against the LTTE gun positions and other offensive installations which were either sending reinforcements or firing against the security forces approaching the Mavil Aru anicut."

Most number of questions to Foreign Minister Samaraweera came from India's High Commissioner Nirupama Rao. She raised issue about the civilian casualties caused by bombing raids. When the meeting ended, Foreign Ministry officials opined that most of the questions or observations made were hostile to the Rajapaksa Government. Many diplomats were displeased at the military action and the increase in hostilities.

But the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) praised President Rajapaksa for ordering the military offensive to gain control of the Mavil Aru anicut and restore water to the farmers. It came during a meeting on Wednesday night. The first major tragedy to hit Sri Lanka in the recent past was the devastating tsunami. The next was the scourge of LTTE terrorism. JHU's Ellawala Medananda Thera described President Rajapaksa as the modern day Dutugemunu. He said the current wave of "Buddhu Ras", the waves of varied hues emanating from Buddha statues, was a great blessing for the country and an acknowledgement of his leadership. He said the people of Sri Lanka expected him to save the country from the terrorists. During the conversation the role of the media, particularly a TV channel, came up for discussion. Rajapaksa said he had summoned the station responsible and required them not to demoralize the armed services by giving high prominence to the pronouncements of guerrilla leaders.

The issue of the LTTE blockade of water at Mavil Aru anicut came up for discussion at Thursday's All Party Meeting. President Rajapaksa personally briefed the representatives of political parties except those from the United National Party (UNP) who had opted not to attend. There was a mix up of protocol and someone had blundered. Instead of asking a high ranking officer to brief the political party representatives, a junior Major from the Media Centre for National Security was asked to give a briefing. He did not appear to be conversant with the task given to him. In his introductory remarks he declared that the Mavil Aru anicut was within LTTE-controlled areas. For a briefing of representatives of political parties and Government leaders, usually a senior Defence Ministry official would have taken part. But, if they are not up to that task, it is done by a senior officer of the armed forces who is conversant with the subject.

President Rajapaksa politely explained that the Mavil Aru anicut was very much in the Government-controlled area. He concurred with JVP's Wimal Weerawansa, who was angry at the Army officer's remarks. He said the JVP MP in Trincomalee district, Jayantha Weerasekera had visited the anicut at least on four separate occasions. There was no LTTE presence at those times. If indeed the LTTE was there, why did not they react then, he asked.

Weerawansa said that when a Navy patrol was attacked in Pesalai and there was counter action, there were good Samaritans who complained the livelihood of fishermen was affected. This was after a temporary ban there on fishing activity. But there was no cry when 15,000 families were left without water and they could not even have their paddy fields, cultivated with great toil, and was denied to them by the LTTE. He said the LTTE had carried out a despicable act.

JHU's Ven. Ellawala Medananda Thera tabled a document which recommended that the Government should pursue the military action against Tiger guerrillas. A war of words developed between Weerawansa and Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leader Rauff Hakeem. This was after Hakeem accused the security forces of carrying out artillery attacks that killed Muslim civilians. Weerawansa declared that Hakeem was making his speech after reading the Tamilnet website. Hakeem said he was basing his comments on information provided by his own party representatives. President Rajapaksa intervened to say Hakeem should go to Mutur and see things for himself. He said he would make the security arrangements for such a journey.

Weerawansa also raised the issue of the Norwegian statement and urged that the Foreign Ministry should initiate action. However, President Rajapaksa intervened to say such action had already been taken at the highest levels.

After the meeting with a JHU delegation, President Rajapaksa chaired a meeting of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Central Committee at Temple Trees. The subject of lengthy discussion was a 20-point memorandum the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) had submitted to Rajapaksa. It was the crux of the common programme under which the JVP wanted to join the Government.

Some senior SLFP ministers raised issue over what they called highly contentious issues contained in the memorandum. One was a JVP demand that Norway be asked to step down from playing the role of peace facilitator. Another was a demand to abrogate the Ceasefire Agreement. Among those who spoke against these demands were Ministers Nimal Siripala de Silva and Mangala Samaraweera.

They said they would welcome the JVP into Government fold but acceptance of such contentious demands would cause a great deal of harm to the country and place national interests in peril. They said such demands would help the LTTE. Hence, the Central Committee decided to point out such issues to the JVP and refrained from endorsing the memorandum.

The subject came up for discussion again when President Rajapaksa met a delegation of the JVP for two and half hours of talks on Friday. On his side were Maithripala Sirisena, Nimal Siripala de Silva, Mangala Samaraweera, Susil Premajayantha, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa and Dulles Allahapperuma. The JVP delegation was made up of Tilvin Silva, Wimal Weerawansa, Anura Kumara Dissanayake and K.D. Lalkantha.

The discussions at the Central Committee were explained to the JVP by Nimal Siripala de Silva. He said that the memorandum should only encompass the principles of Mahinda Chinthanaya. This prompted Tilvin Silva to ask whether the JVP cannot raise issues beyond that. De Silva said that was not the case. It was agreed that the discussion should focus on the contentious issues. Tilvin Silva explained that the continuation of the Norwegian peace facilitation and the ongoing Ceasefire Agreement were rapidly leading the LTTE to prepare a nation in waiting. He said the demands were placed with this in mind.

Tilvin Silva asked the Government members to give their own responses to what they consider are the contentious issues. Thereafter he said the JVP would respond. A JVP source said the differences of opinion did not mean their party and the Government would go their own ways. We are in the process of narrowing down our differences before we reach accord on a common programme, he added.

The JVP's politburo meets today to discuss the 20-point common programme. Thereafter, they are to hold a public meeting on August 10 in Colombo to apprise the public of their demands and plans to work together with the Government to pursue common ideals.

With the advent of Eelam War IV this week, political alliances and rivalries will no doubt take new shape. How it portends only the coming weeks will show.

Meanwhile the UNP General Secretary has responded to our last week's report about a secret document found at President’s House. It showed how former President Kumaratunga wanted to forge an alliance with Ranil Wickremesinghe's UNP and contained a list of Cabinet Ministers from the SLFP in a national government. A letter sent to The Sunday Times says:

"Ranil Wickremesinghe, Leader of the United National Party and the Party's presidential candidate for 2005, had no discussions with any persons on the allocation of portfolios, the selection of Ministers and composition of a new Government to be formed after the Presidential election. Discussions on the formation of a Cabinet and allocation of portfolios are held only after the outcome of the election is known.

"Prior to 7th October 2005, the nomination day, the political parties allied with the UNP and supporting the UNP candidate, entered into MoUs with the UNP. There was no discussion with the other parties."

Quite clearly the General Secretary of the UNP has not understood The Sunday Times. There was no reference at all to Mr. Wickremesinghe having discussions. The report referred to the discovery of an MoU in a computer at Janadipathi Mandiraya. And that MoU contained a list of SLFP parliamentarians who were to become Cabinet Ministers in a National Government. This had been formulated by Chandrika Kumaratunga.