JVP
puts forward tough demands
- Removal of Norway as facilitator and abrogation
of ceasefire agreement
- JHU hails President as a new Dutugemunu
By Our Political Editor
Last Wednesday President Mahinda Rajapaksa was
busy with many an official chore. He had to chair a meeting of the
National Security Council in the morning and the weekly Cabinet
meeting in the evening. There were many other engagements in between.
During late afternoon hours he was interrupted
by an overseas call. Operators at Temple Trees said it was from
Norway's Minister for International Development, Erik Solheim -
the Norwegian dignitary who overlooks the peace process in Sri Lanka.
He asked that the call be put through.
Solheim said the Rajapaksa Government should stop
the military action. President Rajapaksa replied "you should
tell that to the LTTE. I did not start the war. It is they who have
done that." As the conversation continued, Solheim repeated
his call again, this time to stop the air raids by the Air Force
on Tiger guerrilla positions in the North and East. President Rajapaksa
was firm. He said Solheim should first get the LTTE to restore water
from the Mavil Aru reservoir anicut to the farmers in Batticaloa
north. More than 30,000 acres of their paddy, about to be harvested,
were threatened. Moreover they had no water for their use. Bowsers
were now supplying them. He said the Government could then talk
about other matters.
Hardly a couple of hours after the telephone conversation,
the Norwegian Foreign Ministry had issued a statement. The highlight:
"During the past few days, the parties to
the Sri Lanka Ceasefire Agreement, the Government of Sri Lanka and
the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), have engaged in intensive
military operations following the LTTE's closure of the water supply
from the LTTE-controlled area to the government-controlled area.
The situation is deadlocked and could easily lead to an escalation
of the armed conflict. The hostilities violate the 2002 Ceasefire
Agreement.
"Norway urges the immediate cessation of
hostilities on both sides in order to pave the way for negotiations
aimed at resolving the water dispute. The LTTE must reopen the water
supply to prevent further civilian suffering and damage to crops,
and both parties' military forces must withdraw to the positions
they held when they entered into the Ceasefire Agreement in 2002,"
said Minister of International Development Erik Solheim.
The tenor and content of the statement angered
Government leaders. Firstly, they said that Mavil Aru anicut was
not in LTTE-controlled area. That was why it was possible for engineers
of the Irrigation Department to go there periodically and open or
close the sluice gates. Secondly, the statement that both parties
must withdraw to the positions they held when they entered the CFA
in 2002. Since, the Government had unimpeded access to the Mavil
Aru anicut area, there was no question of the security forces withdrawing.
It was argued that Norway, the peace facilitator, had no right to
make such a demand.
The Sunday Times learnt the issue was raised with
Norway through diplomatic channels. The Government's displeasure
over the contents of the statement was made clear.
That was to prompt the Foreign Minister, Mangala
Samaraweera to address the Colombo-based diplomatic community. He
said the blocking of water at Mavil Aru has deprived the harvest
of poor villagers. Some 30,000 acres were affected. In addition
drinking water was also not made available as a result to villagers
in Mutur, Seruvila and Echalampattu.
"The Government was left with no option but
to use legitimate force to provide security cover to the irrigation
officials to restore the water supply. This is not an offensive
operation on any military or other target but a judicious use of
force to ensure that objects and services indispensable to the survival
of the civilian population are available," he said.
Samaraweera added: "Security forces' activity
including the air cover for this operation was clearly to facilitate
this task and not to embark on any new offensive action. The air
operations were against the LTTE gun positions and other offensive
installations which were either sending reinforcements or firing
against the security forces approaching the Mavil Aru anicut."
Most number of questions to Foreign Minister Samaraweera
came from India's High Commissioner Nirupama Rao. She raised issue
about the civilian casualties caused by bombing raids. When the
meeting ended, Foreign Ministry officials opined that most of the
questions or observations made were hostile to the Rajapaksa Government.
Many diplomats were displeased at the military action and the increase
in hostilities.
But the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) praised President
Rajapaksa for ordering the military offensive to gain control of
the Mavil Aru anicut and restore water to the farmers. It came during
a meeting on Wednesday night. The first major tragedy to hit Sri
Lanka in the recent past was the devastating tsunami. The next was
the scourge of LTTE terrorism. JHU's Ellawala Medananda Thera described
President Rajapaksa as the modern day Dutugemunu. He said the current
wave of "Buddhu Ras", the waves of varied hues emanating
from Buddha statues, was a great blessing for the country and an
acknowledgement of his leadership. He said the people of Sri Lanka
expected him to save the country from the terrorists. During the
conversation the role of the media, particularly a TV channel, came
up for discussion. Rajapaksa said he had summoned the station responsible
and required them not to demoralize the armed services by giving
high prominence to the pronouncements of guerrilla leaders.
The issue of the LTTE blockade of water at Mavil
Aru anicut came up for discussion at Thursday's All Party Meeting.
President Rajapaksa personally briefed the representatives of political
parties except those from the United National Party (UNP) who had
opted not to attend. There was a mix up of protocol and someone
had blundered. Instead of asking a high ranking officer to brief
the political party representatives, a junior Major from the Media
Centre for National Security was asked to give a briefing. He did
not appear to be conversant with the task given to him. In his introductory
remarks he declared that the Mavil Aru anicut was within LTTE-controlled
areas. For a briefing of representatives of political parties and
Government leaders, usually a senior Defence Ministry official would
have taken part. But, if they are not up to that task, it is done
by a senior officer of the armed forces who is conversant with the
subject.
President Rajapaksa politely explained that the
Mavil Aru anicut was very much in the Government-controlled area.
He concurred with JVP's Wimal Weerawansa, who was angry at the Army
officer's remarks. He said the JVP MP in Trincomalee district, Jayantha
Weerasekera had visited the anicut at least on four separate occasions.
There was no LTTE presence at those times. If indeed the LTTE was
there, why did not they react then, he asked.
Weerawansa said that when a Navy patrol was attacked
in Pesalai and there was counter action, there were good Samaritans
who complained the livelihood of fishermen was affected. This was
after a temporary ban there on fishing activity. But there was no
cry when 15,000 families were left without water and they could
not even have their paddy fields, cultivated with great toil, and
was denied to them by the LTTE. He said the LTTE had carried out
a despicable act.
JHU's Ven. Ellawala Medananda Thera tabled a document
which recommended that the Government should pursue the military
action against Tiger guerrillas. A war of words developed between
Weerawansa and Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leader Rauff Hakeem. This
was after Hakeem accused the security forces of carrying out artillery
attacks that killed Muslim civilians. Weerawansa declared that Hakeem
was making his speech after reading the Tamilnet website. Hakeem
said he was basing his comments on information provided by his own
party representatives. President Rajapaksa intervened to say Hakeem
should go to Mutur and see things for himself. He said he would
make the security arrangements for such a journey.
Weerawansa also raised the issue of the Norwegian
statement and urged that the Foreign Ministry should initiate action.
However, President Rajapaksa intervened to say such action had already
been taken at the highest levels.
After the meeting with a JHU delegation, President
Rajapaksa chaired a meeting of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP)
Central Committee at Temple Trees. The subject of lengthy discussion
was a 20-point memorandum the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) had
submitted to Rajapaksa. It was the crux of the common programme
under which the JVP wanted to join the Government.
Some senior SLFP ministers raised issue over what
they called highly contentious issues contained in the memorandum.
One was a JVP demand that Norway be asked to step down from playing
the role of peace facilitator. Another was a demand to abrogate
the Ceasefire Agreement. Among those who spoke against these demands
were Ministers Nimal Siripala de Silva and Mangala Samaraweera.
They said they would welcome the JVP into Government
fold but acceptance of such contentious demands would cause a great
deal of harm to the country and place national interests in peril.
They said such demands would help the LTTE. Hence, the Central Committee
decided to point out such issues to the JVP and refrained from endorsing
the memorandum.
The subject came up for discussion again when
President Rajapaksa met a delegation of the JVP for two and half
hours of talks on Friday. On his side were Maithripala Sirisena,
Nimal Siripala de Silva, Mangala Samaraweera, Susil Premajayantha,
Anura Priyadarshana Yapa and Dulles Allahapperuma. The JVP delegation
was made up of Tilvin Silva, Wimal Weerawansa, Anura Kumara Dissanayake
and K.D. Lalkantha.
The discussions at the Central Committee were
explained to the JVP by Nimal Siripala de Silva. He said that the
memorandum should only encompass the principles of Mahinda Chinthanaya.
This prompted Tilvin Silva to ask whether the JVP cannot raise issues
beyond that. De Silva said that was not the case. It was agreed
that the discussion should focus on the contentious issues. Tilvin
Silva explained that the continuation of the Norwegian peace facilitation
and the ongoing Ceasefire Agreement were rapidly leading the LTTE
to prepare a nation in waiting. He said the demands were placed
with this in mind.
Tilvin Silva asked the Government members to give
their own responses to what they consider are the contentious issues.
Thereafter he said the JVP would respond. A JVP source said the
differences of opinion did not mean their party and the Government
would go their own ways. We are in the process of narrowing down
our differences before we reach accord on a common programme, he
added.
The JVP's politburo meets today to discuss the
20-point common programme. Thereafter, they are to hold a public
meeting on August 10 in Colombo to apprise the public of their demands
and plans to work together with the Government to pursue common
ideals.
With the advent of Eelam War IV this week, political
alliances and rivalries will no doubt take new shape. How it portends
only the coming weeks will show.
Meanwhile the UNP General Secretary has responded
to our last week's report about a secret document found at President’s
House. It showed how former President Kumaratunga wanted to forge
an alliance with Ranil Wickremesinghe's UNP and contained a list
of Cabinet Ministers from the SLFP in a national government. A letter
sent to The Sunday Times says:
"Ranil Wickremesinghe, Leader of the United
National Party and the Party's presidential candidate for 2005,
had no discussions with any persons on the allocation of portfolios,
the selection of Ministers and composition of a new Government to
be formed after the Presidential election. Discussions on the formation
of a Cabinet and allocation of portfolios are held only after the
outcome of the election is known.
"Prior to 7th October 2005, the nomination
day, the political parties allied with the UNP and supporting the
UNP candidate, entered into MoUs with the UNP. There was no discussion
with the other parties."
Quite clearly the General Secretary of the UNP
has not understood The Sunday Times. There was no reference at all
to Mr. Wickremesinghe having discussions. The report referred to
the discovery of an MoU in a computer at Janadipathi Mandiraya.
And that MoU contained a list of SLFP parliamentarians who were
to become Cabinet Ministers in a National Government. This had been
formulated by Chandrika Kumaratunga.
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