The Political Column

26th March 1999

Licence to hoodwink

By our Political Correspondent

But the main question which yet goes unanswered is whether the two parties are serious enough to achieve consensus before the final document is sent to the LTTE.

At present, PA and UNP leaders are talking on matters which are less important to the Sinhalese and Tamils. The controversial issues such as the unit of devolution and land alienation are yet to be discussed.

In this scenario, observers wonder whether something concrete aimed at resolving the ethnic problem would ever emerge from these talks.

The best barometer to measure the country's mood vis a vis the talks is the Colombo's share market indices which indicate country's economic progress in terms of global standards. The indices indicate the stock market has plunged to an all-time low. We can only see a gloomy picture of the country's political and economic stability.

A bomb here and a bomb there would certainly impede economic stability of the country. Tourism, one of the main foreign exchange earners, has been affected as a result of terrorist activities in Colombo. From December, there have been four big explosions in Colombo and suburbs.

It is in this backdrop, President Kumaratunga met the UNP delegation headed by opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday for a third round of talks on constitutional reforms aimed at resolving the ethnic crisis.

The President first spoke on general matters and referred to a newspaper which had inquired about her academic qualifications. She was apparently annoyed by the attitude of the newspaper which had sent her a letter, asking for her educational qualifications and at which university she had obtained her basic degree.

Mr. Wickremesinghe chipped in at this stage to say that not only the newspaper in question, but even "your Minister of Sports is questioning your qualifications on cricket."

The reference was to Sports Minister S. B. Dissanayake who recently made another controversial statement saying that he would quit his portfolio if the President intervened in the affairs of the cricket board. Addressing a sports ceremony in Kandy, he said the President was not interested in cricket board affairs and she knew nothing about cricket.

The minister later contradicted the story which appeared in the newspaper belonging to the Wijeya Group of Newspapers. However, the tape recording in the possession of the newspaper helped it stand by the story. When this matter surfaced at the PA-UNP talks, Mr. Wickremesinghe said he could vouch for the fact that the President had indeed played cricket. Recalling their childhood days, Mr. Wickremesinghe said the President had joined him and her younger brother Anura to play cricket at Rosmead Place.

"Not only have I played cricket, I have also joined the cheering crowds at the Royal-Thomian matches. I can remember these vividly," the President reminisced.

Then she asked: "What does SB know?"

"The problem with him is he knows nothing," she is reported to have said. People now wonder who actually did play cricket — whether it was Mr. Dissanayake or the President.

When Tuesday's talks began around 9.30 in the morning, UNP Chairman Karu Jayasuriya, General Secretary Gamini Atukorale and others spent a long time correcting the minutes of the earlier meeting and clarifying points.

One of the point of contention was the Ja-ela bomb explosion on December 18 — an item on the minutes. Mr. Atukorale took objections to a reference by President who had quoted the UNP general secretary as saying that the decapitated head found at the bomb site was of a PA supporter. Mr. Atukorale had denied making such a statement. The matter was settled with Mr. Atukorale insisting that his denial be included in the minutes.

UNP Chairman Karu Jayasuriya then referred to a scurrilous tabloid supposed to have been printed in a housing complex near the fire brigade headquarters at Darley road. Mr. Jayasuriya said the tabloid contained slander and reminded the President that he had given her the phone number of this printing press for necessary action when they met last.

The President said she had referred the matter to the NIB which had reported back saying the press did not operate at the place any more. But the President said a similar paper was being printed elsewhere, distancing the government at the same time from any dirty tricks.

The President then said that there are so many things appearing in the newspapers. The latest is that certain papers are trying to question my educational qualifications. She claimed that former President D.B. Wijetunga had acknowledged that the UNP had sent a team to Paris to check her educational qualifications. The team could not find anything questionable about her educational qualifications.

Mr. Wijetunga himself had given me a certificate on this and there need not be any further questions, the President said.

Then they discussed various other matters for half an hour before getting down to serious business.

Minister Dharmasiri Senanayake, referring to making corrections to the minutes said a lot of time was wasted on such exercise and suggested the minutes should not be in detail but should be in point form.

Minister G.L. Peiris and the UNP member K.N. Choksy presented proposals on the appointment of governors to the provinces. Prof. Peiris said if the chief minister is not in agreement with the President on the appointment of the governor, the matter should be referred to a committee. But Mr. Choksy said it would be better if the matter was referred to the constitutional council without referring it to an outside committee.

UNP member Ronnie de Mel endorsed his views. Prof. Peiris agreed to this and said Tamil parties had to be apprised on the matter.

The next subject on the agenda was the constitution of the cabinet of the central government.

Minister Peiris said it should be done in such a way that all sections of the people should be represented in the cabinet as practised in Belgium. UNP's Mahinda Samarasinghe strengthened Minister Peiris' position when he said that Switzerland also had incorporated the Belgium example in its system of government.

Mr. Wickremesinghe, too, agreed that the cabinet should be constituted to represent all sections of the people while Mr. de Mel said it should be done on a proportional basis depending on the ethnic ratio.

The two delegations then discussed at length on the subject of vice presidency. All agreed that the legislature should elect the vice-president, but there was another suggestion that there could be two vice-presidents. Then the President asked which could be better — two vice presidents or two deputy prime ministers? All agreed it should be two vice presidents who are not members of the cabinet in a system where the prime minister is the executive head of the cabinet.

When Minister Indika Gunawardena said if the vice presidents were to be elected by the legislature then the chances of a minority member being elected were remote. But the President said the Tamil parties would be asked to nominate a Tamil candidate while the Muslims would be asked to nominate a Muslim candidate to circumvent such problems.

After the meeting with the PA leaders, UNP leaders met the diplomatic community to brief them on the party's stand on the government's proposals. The diplomats welcomed the UNP's politics of cooperation.

In the meantime, it is learnt that both the President and the opposition leader would be out of country in April. It is rumoured that the President would take this opportunity to discuss matters with some European contacts who are in touch with the LTTE.

Meanwhile, the Norwegian Ambassador in Colombo who met Colombo Mayor Omar Kamil at a function said that Oslo was making headway in setting in motion the peace process which aims at bringing the government and the LTTE to the negotiating table.

But observers say the government-LTTE talks are unlikely at least till August when general elections are to be held.

Another significant political development this week was the commemoration of the 48th anniversary of the death of Sri Lanka's first Prime Minister D.S. Senanayake. The ceremonies assumed political significance because many breakaway groups of the UNP including that of Wijeyapala Mendis's wing and Sirisena Cooray's "Purawesi Peramuna" participating in these ceremonies organised by the UNP top rungers.

Rukman Senanayake, grandson of D. S. Senanayake organised a ceremony of alms given to monks at Woodlands, the residence of the first prime minister. Among the invitees were Mr. Wickremesinghe, his arch rivals Sirisena Cooray and Wijeyapala Mendis.

However, Mr. Cooray who knew Mr. Wickremesinghe was to be one of the invitees participated in the religious ceremony but left Woodlands without partaking in the dana, avoiding an encounter with him.

Participating at the ceremony was Ven. Elle Gunawansa Thera, a monk who is close to the UNP dissidents. He told the ceremony that the need of the hour was political leaders with a following and not political bosses. Many analysts saw this as a dig at Mr. Wickremesinghe.

Meanwhile an unusual circular issued by the Controller of Imports and Exports has also become a talking point in many quarters.

Circular No. 117/A/362/C issued by the Department of Imports and Exports Control says the government has relaxed restrictions imposed on the imports of used motor vehicles if they are for the transport of goods.

What is strange about the circular was the relaxation applied only for five days, arousing suspicion. The circular signed by the Controller of Imports and Exports, S.W. Rajapakse, and dated March 1, instructing commercial banks states: "The government has decided to permit the importation of used motor vehicles for transportation of goods which are not more than seven years old at the time of shipment and classified under specific HS codes.

"Such imports will not require a specific licence from this department. This decision is valid only up to 31st March, 2000. Shipment should take place on or before the 31st of March, 2000.

"Please issue instructions to all your branches informing them to provide necessary facilities required by the prospective importers for the importation of used motor vehicles for transport of goods of five to seven years of age in terms of the above decision. However, under no circumstances, facilities should be provided to effect shipment after 31.3.2000." Under normal circumstances, the government allows used motor vehicles for transport of goods of less than five years of age.

Five days after the first circular, another circular was issued on March 6, by the controller rescinding the earlier circular. The second circular says: "You are kindly requested to treat my operational instruction No. 3 of 2000 of 1st March, 2000, as cancelled with immediate effect. Therefore, you should not provide facilities for imports of used motor vehicles for transport of goods of five to seven years of age. Please issue instructions to all your branches accordingly. Inconvenience is very much regretted." Something is fishy in this whole exercise, business circles say. The Controller who issued the first circular relaxing restrictions on the imports of used motor vehicles for transport for the benefit of the whole country had cancelled it within five days. Some said there could be an attempt to give this benefit to a selected group of businessmen at the cost of revenue loss to the government by way of tariffs.

The matter was taken up at the consultative committee of the Finance Ministry. Ravi Karunanayake who questioned the wisdom of allowing the import of vehicles seven years old. He said such vehicles were categorised in countries like Japan as unserviceable. He pointed out that imports of such vehicles would also mean that the country had to spend millions in foreign exchange on spare parts.

It is learnt that making use of this relaxation, one trader has opened letters of credit for the import of more than 700 vehicles. The trader is sure to make a quick buck but the question that arises is whether there was political patronage behind this move.

Situation Report

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