Political Column - President pushes for dialogue with LTTE

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) joining the Government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa will soon become a reality.

Contrary to reports that the JVP will remain outside and extend support, a new deal is shaping up. The main plank for the new tie-up will be a Common Minimum Programme (CMP). Government and JVP leaders have been having behind-the-scene consultations to arrive at this CMP.

The first round of such talks began last week, on Friday July 14 at Temple Trees, still the official residence of the President. It began at 7.30 pm and went on till past midnight. The second followed this Wednesday July 19. It began at 7 am and continued till 12 noon. The third came the next day, on Thursday July 20. All three rounds focused on chalking out the key subjects that should be incorporated in the CMP.

The next round will be at "Janadipathi Mandiraya" where President Rajapaksa moved in yesterday. Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake is to move into Temple Trees. This will be after a month or more when items there are slowly shifted to Janadipathi Mandiraya.

Among the key areas where attention was focused on was the joint approach to the ongoing ethnic conflict, related role by the international community including foreign lobbies, economic issues and how to deal with terrorism.

The Government side was headed by President Rajapaksa and included Sri Lanka Freedom Party General Secretary and Minister Maithripala Sirisena. It was only this week that he received a harshly worded letter from former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga for his role in electing President Rajapaksa as the leader of the SLFP. Cabinet Ministers Nimal Siripala de Silva, Susil Premajayantha and parliamentarian Dullas Allahapperuma were also on hand. The JVP team was led by Somawansa Amerasinghe and included Tilvin Silva, Wimal Weerawansa and Anura Dissanayake.

In trying to evolve a common approach to the critical issues facing the country, to be incorporated in a CMP, some critical factors facing the Government also surfaced during the talks. It was President Rajapaksa who underscored some of the dangers facing the Government. He felt there was a deeper conspiracy in some quarters to destablise the Government.

One such move, it appeared, was an attempt to build up opposition within Government party members so that the budget debate, due in September, could be defeated. It came to light that a Sunday English newspaper had published a report quoting the State Intelligence Service (SIS), the national intelligence agency, recommending enhanced security for Kumaratunga. The same report had appeared that Sunday in a Sinhala weekly launched by Tiran Alles (and supported by a Cabinet Minister). Hence, the reports, it was pointed out, had originated from one and the same quarter.

President Rajapaksa had in fact invited Alles for a meeting to ascertain the circumstances under which this report came to be published. He noted that the Supreme Court was inquiring into this aspect following a fundamental rights application. Then, on Friday Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle declared in Parliament that the courts cannot determine the security needs of Kumaratunga. These reports had come amidst a repeated request by the former President to enhance her security. This appeared to be a prelude to her return to Sri Lanka to engage in active political work. From London, she was not only in constant touch with SLFP parliamentarians but also with senior military and police top brass. Some of the latter were briefing her on day-to-day developments and on what was termed as "serious shortcomings."

One source who spoke to her in London revealed she was very well briefed of the goings on and the gross lack of control by those in the country's defence establishment over the rapidly deteriorating security situation. "She knows exactly what is going on and what is going wrong," said the source. That has naturally become a pet topic during her telephone calls with SLFP parliamentarians. She asked one top SLFPer "how long more can you allow the country to be ruined and public safety placed in peril?"

President Rajapaksa was upbeat during his talks with the JVP. He said they should join hands to meet the newly developing threats. He declared he would not be deterred by the threats and was quite used to facing them. Though the issue of Cabinet portfolios and other related matters are yet to be discussed with the JVP, sources close to the President say he has plans to expand his cabinet to a fantastic 36 ministers. Of this, at least four portfolios may be offered to the JVP. Ministers are to be allowed to hold only one portfolio in the future. Those who have more than one are to be told to keep one and give up the rest. The same sources said President Rajapaksa was making provision to accommodate in the cabinet some of the nine United National Party (UNP) parliamentarians who want to cross over.

The JVP has devised its own strategy. In entering into a Common Minimum Programme with the Rajapaksa Administration, it wants to make sure the joint approach to important issues, to be formulated with the Government, are clearly spelt out leaving no room for any ambiguity. Thereafter, the JVP wants to publicly announce the contents of the CMP at a news conference. Here, their leaders also propose to answer questions relating to the dialogue they have had with Government leaders. JVP leaders say they want to ensure transparency by making public what they have agreed to do when they join the Government.

If they have begun a dialogue to join the Government under a CMP, the JVP was also at the centre of another controversy which, though wrongly suggested, that they had seen eye-to-eye with their arch political enemy, the United National Party (UNP). This was over four draft bills that were to come up in Parliament this week - Banking (Amendment) Bill, Recovery of Loans by Banks (Special Provisions) (Amendment) Bill, Non Performing assets (Recovery) Bill and Gaming (Special Provisions) Bill. The fact that the JVP and the UNP were both opposed to these four pieces of legislation had given rise to wild speculation that political arch foes had kissed and made up. Their common criticism of the Government on the port strike only added fuel to this. The truth was something else.

What peeved the JVP leadership was the fact that they were not consulted before the four finance bills were introduced in Parliament. They made their disappointment clear, and made it known that they would not vote for them. Leader of the House and Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, who learnt of the move, then telephoned President Rajapaksa. He was advised to go ahead despite the JVP position, and present the bills in the House. The President said if it was defeated, he would boldly face a general election. He said the Government MPs also should be made aware of the seriousness of the situation, and the fact that the ruling part did not have a majority in Parliament. There was quite an exchange of views between Nimal Siripala de Silva and JVP Parliamentary Group leader Wimal Weerawansa on this issue.

Weerawansa wanted de Silva to forward the bills to the Parliamentary Consultative Committee for study. But the Minister flatly refused. He said the Treasury was very keen that the bills should become law without delay. The news of this disagreement had reached Speaker W.J.M. Lokubandara. He in turn spoke with de Silva to ask why he was in such a hurry. The Speaker was told it was President Rajapakasa who wanted the bills passed soon. Thereafter, Lokubandara telephoned Rajapaksa and told him that this was not a suitable time to rush through the four bills.

Rajapaksa was in a jovial mood when Lokubandara's call came through. He said the four finance bills should be tabled to send a message to Government MPs. They must realize the importance of continuing to remain as a minority in Parliament, the President said. Thereafter, the President laughed and placed the receiver down.

The news of the government's urgency despite JVP objections had reached the United National Party leadership in the meantime. They mustered their members to oppose the bills when it came up. A discussion ensued between a group of Government parliamentarians and JVP MPs huddled together inside a Parliament room. Among those present were Nimal Siripala de Silva, Dullas Allahapperuma and Tilak Siyambalapitiya and JVP's Wimal Weerawansa, Bimal Ratnayake, K. D. Lalkantha and Sunil Handunetti debated the issue. It was then agreed, at the eleventh hour, to place it before the Parliament Consultative Committee.

In the meantime, Basil Rajapaksa, the President's brother had arrived in Parliament. He was seen in conversation with Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leader, Rauf Hakeem. He is learnt to have urged Hakeem to speak to UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and appeal to him to vote for the four bills.

Hakeem did so, but Wickremesinghe said he could consider such a request only if it came from the Prime Minister or the Speaker. But, by then it had been decided not to present the bills in Parliament this week.

Two other bills, however, - Payment Devices Frauds Bill and National Insurance Trust Fund Bill - were passed. Interesting enough, with the backing of both the UNP and the JVP, the first bill was passed with a two thirds majority. When it came to the second bill, some of the UNP MPs stepped out of the well of the house. The reason - they did not want to give a second two third majority to the Government despite voting for it with the JVP as well.

All this comes against the backdrop of a concerted effort on the part of a neighbouring country to forge ahead with a PA-UNP Alliance of sorts that will have the backing of both President Rajapaksa and Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, the two party leaders.

This is seen as a shift away from the earlier efforts of the Indian diplomats in Colombo who helped forged the JVP-PA Alliance to the detriment of the UNP Government of 2001-2004.

Wickremesinghe's current official visit to New Delhi this week is very much part of this grand alliance exercise, which this time round seems to be to the detriment of the JVP and the JHU, which some quarters in India see as a stumbling block to a "new road map" in Sri Lanka's peace process.

While these back-door diplomatic manoeuvrings and political machinations take place, the JVP seems to have opted to join the Rajapaksa Administration effectively blocking the PA-UNP National Government theory - and opening the door once again for those nine UNP MPs to de-camp.

Within the UNP, the natural troubles of a party in the opposition continue. This week, there were moves to bring in Rukman Senanayake as the party's executive Chairman, a post that had been earlier ear-marked for its deputy leader Karu Jayasuriya.

No finality has been reached on this, while sniping at one another continues at the highest levels of the party leadership. It would now seem that the JVP has once again outflanked the UNP by dashing any hopes of it joining the Rajapaksa Administration.

With growing economic problems, and a peace process stalled, this could even be a blessing in disguise, if only the UNP could get its act together.