Perhaps taking a cue from Mr. Bandaranaike, many an opposition member seized the opportunity to paint the government black as they attributed the slashing of funds to an ulterior motive to reduce Presidential security and endanger her life. The votes on the office of the president and the policy-planning ministry at the beginning of the week brimmed with empty rhetoric. Ironically enough, it was the new opposition chief whip Dinesh Gunawardhane, one time arch opposer of the executive presidential system who sought to defend the President's office with gusto.

A bout of amnesia ensued as well as the former member of the PA's jumbo sized cabinet critiqued the UNP for being top heavy. "What we need is serious electoral reforms where inter and intra party rivalries could be minimized through a combined system that gives priority to the first past the post system and one that provides for proportional representation as well," he said. Referring to the Pongu Thamil festivals Mr. Gunawardhane demanded from the government as to why the security for all those festivals were provided by LTTE cadres and the reason for keeping the government security forces completely away. "The underlying truth is that these festivals are opportunities that go well beyond the political platform,"he thundered.

With the government treading the'peace path' with vigour, PA's burly Nimal Siripala de Silva was in no mood to give full credit to the government as he demanded equal credit be given to the PA for laying a proper foundation for peace. He contended that the previous government has completed 75 % of the peace process by the time governments changed. "We have had truces and we have repeatedly visited Jaffna. We even regained Jaffna that was handed over on a platter to the LTTE by the UNP. We have had our many successes, the most significant being the attitudinal change we affected on power devolution and the need to correct previous mistakes,"he thundered.

The Badulla member had a pertinent question for the government- if the North, was safe for people to visit en masse, why couldn't the local authorities elections be held.
Switching from Jaffna to Presidential security, Mr. de Silva charged that the UNP had been conducting a campaign against the PSD as part of their election campaign, and now in power were doing their utmost to destroy the PSD with a view to destroying the President herself. "You trumpeted charges against the PSD to crucify its members. Now the allocation for the President has been slashed so that in effect, her security would be reduced.

This is a carefully manouvered plan to have her assassinated," he alleged. "The President has 1,600 in her security unit? What for," asked Interior minister John Amaratunge, to which the legislator shot back that even with 1,600 her life was not safe.
Following him was Parliamentary Affairs minister A.H. M.Azwer who likened all the politicians and their stooges allegedly involved in the recent incidents of election violence to 'people suffering from a nameless decease'.

"They get affected by an illness more destructive than HIV. The moment summons are issued on them, they fall conveniently sick. Other suspects in this country do not enjoy this luxury," he said happily citing the likes of Nihal Karunaratne and the infamous Ratwatte sons as examples. PA's Chandana Kathiriarachchi was next, attempting to prod the UNP's memory of Sri Lanka's image as a barbaric nation until President Kumaratunga came into office. "Things changed dramatically, and finally there was international acceptance that we were genuinely concerned about solving the ethnic problem.

"You have forgotten what this country was like when we assumed office in your haste to forget the service rendered by the President. We were in need of a new political culture and a new approach to the ethnic question, both of which the PA introduced," he said.
The Kesbewa member claimed that there was a time when none of the government legislators who are now on political pilgrimages to Jaffna dared to go there.

It was then that the late SLMP leader Vijaya Kumaratunga courageously visited the dreaded area and informed a lotus eating government that beyond the Palmyrahs was an area that was not government controlled.

It was a litany of woes for former policy planning minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi when she opened the debate on the votes on the ministry of policy planning and implementation. She seemed saddened by the fact that most officials during her tenure were not interested in working and misled the PA in their bid to elect a UNP government.
"If they said a road had been constructed, they made the claim long before even measuring the area. Such was their commitment," she whined, prompting the leader of the House to sarcastically add that sour grapes could have more versions than one.
Lokubandara who joined the debate was at his sarcastic best as he complimented the PA on the area of policy planning. "So much so that every sector is in deep crisis ranging from power generation to paddy cultivation," he noted, tongue in cheek.

Enjoying the thrust and parry, the member recalled the days when a UNPer could not take the Ratnapura road without getting hammered, and in a Mark Antony like speech, exonerated Mrs.Wanniarachchi from the blame. "Those were the days of terror in Ratnapura and the only policy planning they had was when they implemented the Wayamba plan," said he, much to the amusement of the House.

TNA leader M. Siva Sithamparam is another legislator who drew much attention during the week, as he insisted that it was the government's responsibility to rebuild the area they once ravaged. In his haste to pin the blame on government troops, Mr. Siva Sithamparam conveniently forgot that Colombo had been repeatedly devastated by the LTTE and in the path toward peace, much should be forgiven and forgotten.

Thursday began with minister Bandula Gunawardene vehemently opposing a charge levelled against him by the JVP that he had defaulted repayment of loans to a state bank. An angry Mr. Gunawardene demanded that the charge be proved before the end of the week, pledging to resign from his portfolio.

Besides the morning fire, the debate on the local government, provincial councils and home affairs was a lackluster affair with both main parties attempting to score political points as the party that gave new meaning to the exercise of power devolution.

PA's Mahinda Yapa Abeywardene made a valuable contribution as he explained the ability of a provincial council to render yeoman service to an area. A former chief minister of the southern province, he said that the biggest obstacles to provincial administration stemmed from lack of co-ordination with the central government and the delays in releasing funds by the centre for provincial programmes.

PA member Bandula Yalegama wanted to know why the government felt the need to replace provincial bodies with another. His contention was that this was one step in the direction towards devolving power to suit the requirements of the LTTE that has begun clamouring for an interim administration in the North and East. Dredging the alleged misdeeds of the central provincial council was Kandy district UNP legislator Lucky Jayawardene. Identifying the SLFP as the biggest obstacle faced by the UNP when it sought to introduce the 13h Amendment to devolve power and scoffing at the PA as a party lacking foresight which resulted in petty sathyagrahas and powerful campaigns, he said that the country has come to understand that power devolution is a necessary exercise.

Finding it tragic that the UNP has forgotten the very reasons for introducing devolution was JVP's Jinadasa Kitulegoda. The silver haired legislator thought it unfortunate that though the 13th amendment was introduced mainly to devolve power in the North and East, in reality there provincial councils were functioning everywhere else but not in the very areas they were meant for. "Before we evaluate the system, we have to recognize that a fundamental error has occurred. It is a mockery that the PCs have never really functioned in the North and East," he said.

Wrapping up the debate, home affairs minister Alick Aluvihare admitted that the sad truth was that the ministry was seriously constrained due to the reduced allocations, but blamed the empty coffers inherited by the UNF government for the constraints they were facing. Promising more funds in the next few years and more assistance for local and provincial bodies in the backdrop of a ceasefire, he said that the country would stand a better chance at solving the ethnic conflict and ending the costly war, echoing the sentiments of a nation that is eagerly waiting for the dawning of peaceful times.

Back to Top

Back to Columns

Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Webmaster