Political Column

"………It seems they are highly trained people. They are not the normal cadres. Very professional cadres whom they have lost……. No country can fully control terrorism. That is the reality….."

Those were the words of Keheliya Rambukwella, Minister of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare cum Defence Spokesman. He was briefing the media last Monday morning on the Tiger guerrilla attack on the Sri Lanka Air Force base at Anuradhapura.

Soon after he had uttered those words, his Cabinet colleague and Media Minister, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, joined in with more words of wisdom. He declared, "Nobody should make an attempt to glorify the LTTE following this attack. Some of them may try to glorify the LTTE. That would be harm to the country. The counter attacks by the Security Forces have been effective in the recent months. The LTTE has been weakened and the Government will continue to take action to defeat terrorism and restore normalcy….."

The utterances of the two ministers, like some of their colleagues, underscore the tragicomedy in a nation where anything and everything goes. Voila ! Rambukwella, the hotel school graduate presented a new dish this week to the public. He says the Tiger guerrillas involved in the attack are "highly trained people" who are "very professional cadres." Well, it's not really a new dish, but then any other person making that remark would have qualified for the Government's freely and liberally doled out title of being a "traitor." Glorifying the terrorists, what? And he is no ordinary person. He speaks for the Government of Sri Lanka on matters defence and security.

Even if Rambukwella's colleague, Yapa did not perhaps refer to him, the remarks "not to glorify the LTTE" still applied to the Defence Spokesman. There was only one difference. If Yapa had said it before Rambukwella made the remarks that would have helped both, the Government and indeed Sri Lanka. Then it would not have been the only sound bite from a Government Minister to adorn BBC television's main story in its world news programme on Monday night. Thus, the Defence Spokesman told the whole world that the Tiger guerrillas were "highly trained" and "professional."

Bad enough, Yapa was equally bad. He said, "Nobody should make an attempt to glorify the LTTE following this attack. If they do so that would be damage to the country." Here was the Cabinet Minister in charge of the subject of media speaking even before the smoke that billowed out of the aircraft set alight by guerrilla gunfire had receded. The nation was unaware what had happened at the airbase and how it had happened. How could anyone thus "glorify the LTTE'? He gave the show away by that remark. Anyone seeing Yapa on TV, hearing him on radio, or reading him in the print media would know his focus was on preventing "glory" going to the LTTE. Why is he saying that, people would have naturally wondered.

They will know the remarks were a good hint that the guerrillas had done something dramatic. Naturally, such an act would do damage to the country since military losses will have to be made good. It was not the "glory" Yapa spoke of that did the damage. It was the attack on the airbase by Tiger guerrillas. Both Ministers albeit spokespersons at the Media Centre for National Security (MCNS), that claimed to be telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth economised on it. They said in one voice that three aircraft "had been damaged in the attack." That is all. Rambukwella dismissed questions on whether the Beechcraft was destroyed. "There was no such thing," he declared.

It took another 55 hours for some of the truth to emerge from the Government. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake told Parliament that only seven aircraft "have been destroyed." In addition, he said, a Bell 212 helicopter crashed on Monday. This was when two pilots and two gunners were heading towards the airbase.

On the opposite page, our Defence Correspondent gives an account of the attack on the airbase. He has spoken with high ranking sources at Air Force headquarters in Colombo, to officers and men at the airbase present at the time of the attack to put together his account. He gives details of the aircraft on the ground at the time of the attack, how many were destroyed and how many were damaged.

If the Government was slow to come out with the details of the airbase attack, the opposition political parties were quick in responding with strong criticism. The United National Party officially called upon both Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and Commander of the Air Force, Air Marshal Roshan Goonetileke to resign. Some asked the Government to resign. Many were also critical over the lapses at the airbase that led to the attack. Some relevant excerpts from the statements:

United National Party: "According to available information it is clear that the Government has not been prepared for such an attack. Even in this instance the Government had followed a stubborn policy as many of the residents believe that the airbase which was located in the Anuradhapura town was not only a threat to the camp itself but also to the residents.

"Earlier, the Government had claimed that a full air defence system was in place. It is clear that the MiG-27s were not used to prevent such attacks. The only thing which has happened is that large amount of commissions obtained from the MiG-27 deal has been deposited in secret bank accounts in the Caribbean.

"The Government is making use of the State media to show that the war is being conducted properly. The public have forgotten the fact that the Government said that the war would be completed by December. Last Friday senior Government members attended a television show and said the LTTE has been weakened and only a few of its members were left.

"But in reality it is different. The LTTE has come up to Anuradhapura and carried out an attack. The LTTE aircraft have come for the third time and returned undamaged. The air defence system has been only for namesake and the MiG-27s have been out of action. President Mahinda Rajapaksa, as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces should take the responsibility for the deteriorating security situation."

The co-partner with the UNP in the formation of the National Congress, the SLFP (M) led by former Foreign Minister, Mangala Samaraweera, said: "The estimated damage from the Anuradhapura airbase attack is around US dollars 150 million (Rs 17.1 billion). This would mean 30 percent of the bond obtained from international banks at a very high interest rate.

"President's brother, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, ignoring administrative fundamentals followed by former Defence Secretaries, has politicised the armed forces to suit the political ideas of the President……….It is clear that the Defence Secretary's public statements are being made to gain political advantage. Few days after he made a statement that the eastern province has been liberated, the LTTE launched an attack in the Yala wildlife sanctuary, which is located in the Hambantota district, the homeland of the Rajapaksa family.

"If it was a civilised country not only the Defence Secretary but the Defence Minister also should resign ……." The Politburo of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) was summoned for an emergency session after the airbase attack. Several speakers were angered that Tiger guerrillas were able to enter the airbase easily to carry out the attack.

JVP's K.D. Lalkantha, who was on a visit to the North Central Province, was staying in a house near the airbase. He heard the explosions and gunfire. He was able to obtain detailed accounts of what was going on. He was on his mobile phone every now and then briefing the JVP leader Somawansa Amerasinghe who was in Colombo. Lalkantha noted that there was no contingency plan in place to save assets at the airbase if it should come under attack. It was thereafter that the JVP parliamentary group leader, Wimal Weerawansa, made a statement in Parliament.

Weerawansa told The Sunday Times, "We cannot say who should resign. People who are responsible should go into the lapses. The Tigers could not have attacked the airbase overnight. This happened because there was a delay in fighting the terrorists in the North, soon after the victory in the East. The LTTE is getting a respite by resorting to this type of attack.

"Government leaders should also change their lifestyles and set an example to the valiant troops who are defending the nation. At present the extravagance continues. That is not good. Leaders should set a good example that would come as further encouragement to the troops."

All in all, it looked like the Government has clearly dropped its guard. The Army Commander is in the US and the Tigers know that no major operation against them would be launched in his absence. The Navy Commander was also abroad. Despite the attack at Yala a few days earlier, the Forces seemed to be in an "at ease" mode. Not in an "attention" sense of alert.

The motor races held in the vicinity of the air base that day provided a launching pad for the guerrillas, and one would expect the Forces to avoid such fun and frolic at a time of war, or if they must, at least to ensure maximum security when they are off guard. But as Weerawansa says, the politicians must set the example in austere life styles at a time of war.

With just a little over a week to go for the budget, the Government on Friday raised the price of milk food by a phenomenal Rs 80. The Opposition was quick to coin the saying that the 'Kussiye Yuddaya' or the war in the kitchen has also begun. Government sources say an increase in fuel prices and electricity tariffs will follow. That will be after the budget on November 7. Government sources say the budget itself will not spell out any "unpopular" measures. That is a bid to provide a 'sunshine budget' which will make it easier for the political parties supporting the Government justify that support. It is also aimed at making it easier for the JVP to back the budget. Yet, the JVP last week debated what it should do when it comes to voting on the second reading of the budget.

Its politburo discussed the issue at length last week. Most of the speakers proposed that they take a decision to oppose the budget. Their leader, Somawansa Amerasinghe, however, said the party should wait for the budget proposals to be announced. "Thereafter, let us decide", he declared. Thus, the JVP official position on the budget will be made known in Parliament on November 19.
That is when the vote on the second reading is taken up. The JVP also discussed the vote of no-confidence against UNP pole-vaulter and now Tourism Minister, Milinda Moragoda.

Weerawansa said the the JVP had taken a decision to support the no-faith move against Moragoda. He said such a motion also amounted to a vote of no-confidence on the UNP since some of the issues on which the motion is being moved had taken place during the period 2002 to 2004 - when the UNP was in power. In fact, some of the other issues had taken place when also, the UNP was in office the previous round, sometime in the early 1990s.

It is now likely that the motion would be taken up for discussion on November 5. Moragoda who was quick to call for an early debate so that any or all charges against him could be cleared once-and-for-all, is very quiet about the matter now. Party leaders are due to meet on November 5 to take a decision on this matter.

A decision by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to urge the Government to suspend the Commissioner General of Inland Revenue, A.A. Wijepala, until inquiries into the VAT scam are concluded has also become the subject of controversy.

The PAC is headed by Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) leader Rauff Hakeem. JVP's national list MP Wasantha Samarasinghe last week charged that Hakeem had not enforced the decision of the PAC to call for Wijepala's resignation and informed Cabinet instead of the PAC decision. When Hakeem did that last Wednesday, it ended up in a verbal duel with President Rajapaksa. UNP's Lakshman Kiriella also pointed to the tradition in Parliament where the PAC was headed by an Opposition MP, and now that Hakeem had joined the Cabinet, he should resign from the Chairmanship of PAC.

The Government's decision to appoint two Ministers, Jeyeraj Fernandopulle and Nimal Siripala de Silva, to chair the respective Parliamentary Select Committees on the Government's purported secret-deal with the LTTE prior to the 2005 Presidential Election, and the MiG-27 purchases also drew flak from the Opposition which demanded that they be chaired by those who called for these Select Committees. These demands are surely to fall on deaf ears as the Government carries on regardless.

Now with a US$ 500 million international commercial loan in their pocket, they will be confident they can weather the storm approaching by way of an economic crunch. All they have done is postponed the inevitable, and placed the burden of repaying these high-interest loans to those to follow.

The Opposition is howling that the additional cost for the damaged aircraft from the Anuradhapura air base attack will also have to come virtually from this loan. As this loan is not a war bond, they believe the Government will now utilise the funds they have in their kitty for the purchase of new aircraft, and make use of this loan to finance what areas from which the funds were withdrawn to fund the military hardware purchases.

No doubt, the LTTE's attack on the Anuradhapura air base removed the gloss from the Government's recent successes on the battlefield. But with time running out for the LTTE Leader Velupillai Prabhakaran's Mahaveerar Day speech later in November, and having the desperate need to show he is still in business, he needs to mean business, to remain in business. The Government will need now to battle on two fronts. The LTTE, and the Kussiye Yuddaya to be in contention themselves.

LTTE attacks Air base; Govt. attacks media