Parliament

Emergency passed amidst praise for slain Kadirgamar
By Chandani Kirinde, Our Lobby Correspondent
Parliament approved by a majority vote, the extension of the state of emergency for a further month last week. Legislators also paid tribute to the assassinated Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar- whose death last month prompted the government to impose emergency in a bid to crack down on escalating violence in the country.

The government cited the continuous killings of unarmed civilians and attacks on police stations and army posts in the north and east by LTTE cadres as reasons for the extension of emergency. There was conditional support for the move from the main Opposition UNP which wanted the regulations relaxed once nominations for the upcoming presidential elections are handed in on October 7.

The TNA opposed the emergency along with Mano Ganeshan of the Western Province People Front and maverick UNP Colombo district MP T.Maheswaran. The SLMC abstained while both the JVP and JHU put their strength behind the Government to extend the emergency.

The UNP had its own problems as the emergency debate began on Wednesday with Mr.Maheswaran demanding that he be given time to speak during the debate but his appeal was turned down by Chief Opposition Whip Mahinda Samarasinghe. An offer by JVP Parliamentarian Wimal Weerawansa to give five minutes of his party time to Mr.Maheswaran was not approved by Speaker W.J.M.Lokubandara which prompted Maheswaran to walk to the Well of the House, tear into pieces the gazette notification containing the emergency regulations and throw it at the government benches.

TNA’s Parliamentary Group Leader and Trincomalee district MP R.Sambanthan said that in the 50 years since independence the country has been ruled more under emergency than under normal law and the victims of this rule have been the Tamil people and urged that the emergency be ended.

“If the people inhabiting this country are to coexist, we must realise that such coexistence is possible only in the context of our respecting each other. If we are subjected to the fascist boot of emergency rule it must inevitably lead to a situation where coexistence amongst the different communities that inhabit the country would become impossible, unattainable,” he warned.

JVP MP Chandrasena Wijesinghe said that the Party was not in favour of emergency rule even though it supported the Government in this instance because of the growing terrorist attacks by the LTTE.

“We have lived through the dark period when emergency was used to suppress all forms of opposition and we do not want a repetition of that kind of an era,” he said.UNP Deputy leader Karu Jayasuriya said that his party would support the extension of the emergency at this time but if a free and fair election is to be held, it must be relaxed by the day of nominations.

Minister of Public Security, Law and Order Ratnasiri Wickremanayake said that certain sections in the emergency, particularly those dealing with holding of rallies and processions had been relaxed for upcoming elections and the government would ensure that these regulations are not used in anyway to hamper election work.

On Thursday and Friday, Parliamentarians paid tribute to slain Minister Kadirgamar with many government members strongly condemning the LTTE for the killing. The sole TNA member to speak on the vote of condolence Mr.Sampanthan went only as far as to say the Alliance strongly disapproved of the killing.

JVP Parliamentarian Wimal Weerwansa in a lengthy speech said Mr.Kadirgamar’s greatness was his ability to identify himself as a Sri Lankan despite the tremendous pressures especially on members of the Tamil community to side with extremists in the aftermath of the 1983 riots and the burning of the Jaffna library.

“Many people in the face of threats to their lives would withdraw into a shell and hide but Mr.Kadirgamar faced these threats bravely and lived his life amidst all the constraints,” he said.

He said the international clout that the late Minister wielded was one reason the terrorist had hated him and considered him an enemy. “He was not afraid to condemn the World Bank representative in Colombo when the latter made a statement detrimental to the country’s interest in a newspaper report. That was because he had enough self confidence unlike many others who would bow down to westerners, Mr.Weerawansa said.

He also reiterated the JVP’s view that the best candidate for Prime Minister after the UPFA government was formed in 2004, was Mr.Kadirgamar. ‘‘It was a unique opportunity to appoint a member of the minority community to a post which we have been unable to do since independence and the late minister had all the credentials to hold such a post,” he said.
Justice Minister John Seneviratne said that Mr.Kadirgarmar had the backbone to stand up to the LTTE and he also stood for a just solution to the ethnic problem and the devolution of power.

“It is diabolical of the LTTE and its sympathisers to portray Lakshman Kadirgamar as a traitor to the Tamils,” Mr.Seneviratne said adding that he along with President Kumaratunga were instrumental in turning the SLFP, which was known to carry the traditional Sinhala base to expand its horizons by accommodating the aspirations of the minorities.

JHU MP Ellawala Medhananda Thera said that it was the late minister’s efforts that exposed the LTTE in the eyes of the international community and help clear much of the misconceptions that western nations had about Sri Lanka.

He along with many other MPs also said it was Mr.Kadirgamar’s efforts that resulted in the UN declaring Vesak day an international holiday. Leader of the Opposition Ranil Wickremesinghe said Mr.Kadirgamar had advocated a federal solution to the ethnic problem and believed that a solution short of a federal system would not be acceptable to the Tamils. He also believed there should be a civilised relationship between the ruling party and the Opposition, Mr.Wickremesinghe said.

He added that Mr.Kadirgamar was also a lover of art and architecture and did much to promote these aspects of Sri Lankan culture.

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