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Talking
about the talks about talks
Peace
was never made in the cocktail circuits or the press conference
tables, but if cocktails are torture, they are still better than
minefields. This column predicted the "coming out'' of Prabhakaran
last year - albeit a little tongue in cheek. It was  nice
to wager then about "who will write the prawn to prawn commentary
about the coming out of Prabhakaran.''
Now he is said to be holding a press conference soon, and the Norwegians
will presumably provide the cocktail if not in Killinochchi, at
least in Colombo.
But, it's always
good to have a conflict talked to death than fought to death. Dayan
Jayatilleke the political scientist gives me a close to two hour
lecture on Prabha-karan's fascism at a wedding on Friday. This jaw-jaw
thing is infectious.
But not everybody wants to jaw-jaw either, even though businessmen
have made a vocation of campaigning for talks. Mrs C. Kotelawala
of Sri Lanka First fame was seated across the table from this writer
at a recent dinner in honour of a visiting Singapore Press Club
delegation. If columnists are not mischievous, nothing worthwhile
gets written about. So couching all inhibitions in spurious bravado,
this writer asked Mrs C. Kotelawala whether there is "any truth
that Sri Lanka First is Catholic action and nothing but Catholic
action?''
I must say that Mrs Kotelawala was very sweet about it. "I
am not even a Catholic,'' she said very pleasantly, with a smile
that said something like "you are missing the bus here.'' "But
your husband is a Catholic?'' I said, at the last minute, suppressing
even more needless inhibitions.
At this point, a young Foreign Ministry apprentice - "apprentice'',
even if he is confirmed on the job - said curtly, "Now that's
enough quizzing Mrs Kotelawala.'' I tousled his hair and held onto
his coat in an attempt to make him duck, so that I could go on with
this impromptu round table conference with the first lady of Sri
Lanka First.
But, Foreign Ministry apprentices don't seem to believe these days
in jaw-jaw, even if the state, according to Mr. Jayatilleke, wants
to talk its way to annihilation. Unfortunately, this was not even
a Foreign Ministry apprentice I knew. If that was the case, at least
something could have been said to him. Such as "give me a chance
to quiz Mrs Kotelawala, and I will try and carry all your press
releases.''
Foreign Ministry official or no Foreign Ministry official, Mrs Kotelawala
thought that it is best to leave Sri Lanka First affairs to her
husband, so she left, though not in a huff. There are difficulties
that come in the territory of not being a Catholic.
But, Mr Nihal
Rodrigo of the Foreign Ministry was there to the left of me at the
table, and his fielding of questions was so deft, that it would
have put to shame any prospective negotiator in Phuket or in Bangkok.
Mr. Rodrigo was beginning to say how earnest India was in this talks
business when the Foreign Ministry apprentice murmured in my ear
"now Mr Rodrigo has to go.'' Mr. Rodrigo himself was soon wearing
a rather quizzical look on his face even though I was doing the
quizzing - and he was wondering why a Foreign Ministry apprentice
was showing him the door, when the proceedings had not yet closed.
Mr. Rodrigo however compensated for the First Lady of Sri Lanka
First, and told me more than a couple of things that need not go
on the record.
So it can be seen how difficult it is to jaw-jaw in a setting in
which people keep saying it is better to talk rather than blow each
others heads off. It's curious. The Foreign Ministry wants peace,
but it is difficult to sit at the table and get in a word edgewise.
Mr Dayan Jayatilleke wants war - but he is ready to talk to you
about it anytime.
Now, Mr Prabhakaran himself, like Mr Jayatilleke, is in talk mode.
If he was there, he would have said "off with your head'' to
the Foreign Ministry apprentice. That's what he is said to be saying
to ceasefire violators in the Eastern province. "Off with your
head - can't you see, I have sat down to talk.'' He never appears
in flak jacket now - it's sartorial elegance all the way , a "kapati
kit,'' in local political lingo - but it must be called something
else in Eelam. His wife now appears beside him - the first lady
who came out last.
It's an image makeover worthy of Saatchi and Saatchi, and don't
anybody explain that "kapati'' word to Mr Prabhakaran. The
Sri Lankan government is bedazzled by the makeover, and Mr Jayatilleke
says they are all fools. Sometimes I wonder whether it can be said
about Mr. Jayatilleke, what they said about Wilder the film-maker.
"He is too cynical to believe in his own cynicism.''
The tableau after the landing of Balasingham in the Wanni was so
bucolic that it would have been difficult even for a not so hard-boiled
cynic to say "something is happening here that I don't quite
get.'' Only the boys were in fatigues, but they were all smiles
too, and it was as if the firm had closed for a while and handed
over the running of day to day business to the Norwegians. Peace
or no peace, riding the tiger or not, one thing is sure. As long
as they last this talks business is so charming, it leaves you wondering
what they are all fighting about in the first place.
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