For the two major contenders in the upcoming Presidential polls - Mahinda Rajapaksa and retired General Sarath Fonseka - the military defeat of Tiger guerrillas became the main platform.
Both shot into greater national limelight after the victory. Nearly eight months later, the two major stakeholders in success have become bitter enemies. If their campaigns began with the duo staking claims to a Lion's share of success over the Tigers, it has now taken a different turn.
Major issues appear forgotten. The focus of the Rajapaksa campaign has shifted almost entirely to personally target the one time war hero. He was dubbed then by UPFA leaders as one of the world's best Army Commanders. The same leaders are now branding Gen. Fonseka as a traitor, a title which the Rajapaksa administration has conferred on more Sri Lankans than it has the nation's highest honour -Deshamanya. Government leaders also allege that he is a corrupt wheeler-dealer who made millions of rupees whilst prosecuting the war.
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| Batticaloa Mayoress Sivageetha Prabhagaran meets UNF leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and extends her support to the candidature of Sarath Fonseka |
The charge of 'treacherous conduct' or a 'sell out' came after Gen. Fonseka worked out an agreement to obtain the support of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). The TNA, which was proxy for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), represented electorates in the North and the East. Rajapaksa failed to woo the TNA after several rounds of talks. The last attempt to win its support came soon after he learnt that TNA leaders had met with Gen. Fonseka and other Opposition frontliners. In particular, it was UNF leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, who undertook the task of conducting the dialogue with TNA.
The accord between the TNA and Gen. Fonseka came at a time when the TNA was split in three. K. Sivagilingam had moved away from the party to become a Presidential candidate. Gajendra Kumar Ponnambalam, who wanted his colleagues to remain neutral during the Presidential polls flew to London to be away until it was over. It was TNA leader Rajavarotyaham Sampanthan and Suresh Premachandran who continued the talks.
When understanding was reached, the TNA parliamentary groups were summoned for a meeting. Thirteen of the 18 TNA members were present and there was a heated debate. At the end, when the meeting ended, the TNA with the exception of Selvarasa Kajendran, N. Sivajilingam, N. Sri Kantha, S. Vino Noharthalingam and S. Kishore, decided to back Gen. Fonseka. Those who endorsed the decision were R. Sampanthan, Padmini Sithamparanathan, Gajendra Kumar Ponnambalam, Suresh Premachandran, Mavai Senathirajah, Selvam Adaikalanathan, Sivashakthi Anandan, Thangeshwari Kathirgamam, P. Ariyenthran, K. Thurairatnasingham, I.M. Imam, Solomon Cyril and Dr. William Thomas.
Three TNA MPs are still abroad. They are S. Jeyanandamoorthy, Chandrakanthan Chandranehru and T. Kanagasabai. Another MP, Sathasivam Kanagaratnam, is in custody over alleged LTTE connections.
In a two-page statement issued after reaching accord with Gen. Fonseka, the TNA said "it is the unanimous view of the Members of Parliament of TNA that President Mahinda Rajapaksa's appeal to the country through the current election, for a mandate to hold office for a further term cannot and should not be supported…."
Angry UPFA reacts
Charging that "no progress has been made in evolving an acceptable political solution to the national question," the TNA said, "actions of President Rajapaksa have been retrogressive."
The TNA added: "President Mahinda Rajapaksa's performance on human rights issues and humanitarian issues has been dismal. Extra judicial killings and enforced disappearance have been common; the worst affected being the Tamil people. Institutions of governance have been gravely damaged, even by the violation of mandatory constitutional provisions. Enforcement of law and order has collapsed. Corruption is rampant. Consequently the rule of law and good governance have reached their nadir…."
The UPFA reacted angrily to the accord TNA reached with Gen. Fonseka. Non Cabinet Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena charged the two sides had reached a "clandestine" agreement. He said this would undermine the historic victory the armed forces achieved by militarily defeating the Tiger guerrillas. Abeywardena alleged that pro-LTTE groups in London had colluded with the TNA to take Sri Lankan leaders before an International War Crimes Tribunal. He claimed that the TNA had also discussed the setting up of a so-called Provisional Temporary Government of Tamil Eelam (PTGE).
A TNA spokesperson, however, denied the allegations. The Sunday Times learnt that Gen. Fonseka and UNF leader Ranil Wickremesinghe had placed their signatures to heed some requests made by the TNA. Among others, they embody the assurances Gen. Fonseka gave during his visit to Jaffna last week including the removal of high security zones and allowing free movement in the North. He also assured the resumption of civil administration, the return of private property including buildings to their original owners and the establishment of committees to restore civil administration early. However, Fonseka was to tell a public rally soon after clinching the TNA's support and clearly responding to the Government's allegations that he had signed a secret pact with the TNA that people supported him because they trusted him and not because of any written agreements.
Besides the TNA, there was further boost to Gen. Fonseka's campaign with two more Tamil politicians crossing over. One was Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) stalwart M.S. Sellasamy, Deputy Minister of Posts.
Sellasamy was a contemporary of veteran trade unionist and CWC founder Savumyamoorthy Thondaman. He was, one could say, from the Old Guard. With his departure, three senior most CWC stalwarts have quit. The other two are Ramiah Yogarajan and Murugan Satchithanandan, then Deputy Minister of Education leaving its present leader Arumugam Thondaman in the lurch. The move has split the country's largest plantation sector trade union in two, and clearly Thondaman is unable to hold it together. One faction will support Gen. Fonseka. The one-time CWC stalwarts have already launched their campaign in the plantation sector. That is while several rival plantation unions have already made inroads into the once CWC vote monopoloy in the plantations.
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| TNA leader R. Sampanthan answering questions journalists raised at the news conference where he announced the TNA’s support for Gen. Fonseka |
Sellasamy made his debut at an event last Thursday where Gen. Fonseka presented his common minimum programme titled 'Vishawasaneeya Venasak'. As the ceremony was in progress, a member of his security detail was to whisper to him that a senior UPFA leader wanted to contact him hurriedly. He ignored the request. A booklet with that title was distributed after religious ceremonies at the Intercontinental Hotel where UNF leader Wickremesinghe and JVP leader, Somawansa Amerasinghe were present.
The man behind the document is SLFP (M) leader, Mangala Samaraweera. There is little doubt he has copied US President Barrack Obama's campaign slogan "Change that we can believe in." Interesting enough, one liners in polls campaigns is the latest import from US politics to Sri Lanka.
If Tamil parties like the TNA and a formidable section of the CWC, representing voters in the north and the central hills veered towards Gen. Fonseka, there were ripples in the east too. Sivageetha Prabagaran, the Mayoress of Batticaloa, crossed over on Friday to support Gen. Fonseka. The previous day, she was on her way to Colombo when news reached UPFA leaders of her impending departure.
They made efforts to contact her whilst she was en route to Colombo accompanied by UNP's Eastern provincial councillor Arasaratnam Sashitharan. She had knocked off her mobile phones and checked in at the Mahiyangana Rest House for that day and arrived in Colombo on Friday morning. Ms. Prabagaran appeared at a news conference with Wickemesinghe and will now join the UNP. She was elected to the municipal council on the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) ticket. She later crossed over to the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). On Friday, Ms. Prabagaran found that her commando security contingent of one officer and 20 soldiers was immediately withdrawn. She was assigned only two Police constables. She was to complain to Gen. Fonseka of the threats she faced.
The allegations of corrupt activity against Gen. Fonseka's family centre on an ongoing investigation. Criminal Investigation Department (CID) detectives are probing accusations that a member of his immediate family directly benefited by supplying equipment to the Sri Lanka Army during the separatist war. Posters on walls in the Colombo city and suburbs called the General a "Bullet Hora" (or Bullet Thief), the latest one-liner from the Government camp. Advertising space was purchased in all the major newspapers in all three languages with a graphic explanation of how he and his family engaged in purchases of military hardware during the war, based on some details that were first tabled in Parliament. It is not proper to pre-judge or speculate on an ongoing investigation. Any accusations of plundering public wealth, without doubt, need not only an investigation but also the toughest punishment under the law.
However, one cannot help but comment on some important aspects of the ongoing inquiry. If one is to believe that millions of rupees of public wealth have been plundered through military deals, there are some pertinent questions to raise in the public interest. The most important among them is how such activity continued undetected for a long period. These show there have been no checks and balances in the procurement mechanisms. This is in contrast to proud proclamations by UPFA leaders and bureaucrats that greater controls have virtually eliminated corrupt activity in military procurements.
Another question is why the ongoing case has become the only exception.
There have been numerous other instances exposed by the media not just recently but over the years. This includes exposures made in the Sunday Times. An example is the acquisition from Ukraine of MiG-27 fighter jets. If indeed investigations were conducted, the reports have not been made public. The catalogue of such exposures in the media is too long. Investigations being fast tracked into the activities of Gen. Fonseka's family therefore smack of nothing but a witch-hunt since the one time war hero has turned a formidable opponent. It also means that had Fonseka not decided to contest the President, this alleged 'Bullet-Hora' would have got away scot-free.
It is not uncommon in Sri Lankan politics to raise such issues. Then Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, who signed and sealed the Norwegian-brokered Ceasefire Agreement with Tiger guerrillas, was accused of betrayal. His party lost the April 2004 parliamentary elections in the wake of a campaign where he was accused of ceding too much to the guerrillas. However, in this instance, former President Chandirika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and the leaders of her People's Alliance made the accusations against Wickremesinghe and campaigned vigorously against him.
In the case of the matter related to Gen. Fonseka's family, the accusations have been levelled, as Opposition parties point out, by 'imports' to the UPFA. They are National Freedom Front (NFF) leader, Wimal Weerawansa and Rajitha Senaratne, who crossed over from the Opposition United National Party. It is this duo who raised issue in Parliament whilst Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, who is the Deputy Minister of Defence remained stoically silent.
To add to that, no senior Minister in the Cabinet (from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party) has spoken on the revelations of Weerawansa and Senaratne. The duo have been periodically briefed on the ongoing CID investigations and provided with the documentation related to the allegations. Naturally, in the next 15 days, where the ongoing inquiry is headed will become clear. It will move with jet speed if Rajapaksa is voted to power. It could take a different turn, if he is not.
War crimes issue again
For both the UPFA and the Opposition parties, there was some disconcerting news from abroad. Philip Alston, the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, at a news conference in New York on Thursday called for an "independent investigation into war crimes and other grave violations of human rights law in Sri Lanka," based on an examination he commissioned to determine the authenticity of a video that apparently depicts the shooting of naked, bound prisoners somewhere in the Wanni.
Alston said the video had been submitted to three "highly qualified technical experts". He said, "each of the experts concluded that there was nothing to indicate that the video was a fake." He said they had specifically rebutted the evidence presented by the Sri Lanka Government, after its own investigations that it said proved that the videos were not authentic.
"In the light of these conclusions, and of the persistent flow of other allegations concerning alleged extrajudicial executions committed by both sides during the closing phases of the war against the LTTE, I call for an independent inquiry to carry out an impartial investigation into war crimes and other grave violations of international humanitarian and human rights law allegedly committed in Sri Lanka," Alston said.
In September, he recalled, he had asked for an independent probe into the authenticity of the video, stating that the four separate investigations carried out by the Government after the airing of the video on Channel 4 in Britain in late August had not been impartial and that the evidence presented by the Government was "impressionistic rather than scientific".
At that time, however, the United Nations Human Rights Council, to which he reports, called on him to withdraw his call for an investigation and apologise to the Government of Sri Lanka. He then decided to commission expert opinions, identifying three individuals who he said were clearly highly qualified and were totally removed from the conflict.
Those experts were Jeff Spivak, a forensic media analyst, Daniel Spitz, a forensics pathology examiner, and Peter Diaczuk, forensick firearms expert. They have forwarded a 15 page technical report. It concluded that, "there were no signs of editing and that the automatic weapons and bodies in the way to be expected from shootings in the back of the head at close range."
Alston said he, however, has admitted that the encoded date of 17 July presented a puzzle, since that date was well after the end of the conflict. However, he has noted that such phones allowed the date to be set by the user and there was no reason that it would necessarily be correct. He speculated, in addition, that the person who taped the video, presumed to be a Sri Lankan soldier, could have changed the date to prevent the video being traced to a specific event.
Alston has not specified who should undertake the investigation though he hinted the UN had undertaken such probes. Yet, Sri Lanka is not a party to the Rome Statute underlying the International Criminal Court (ICC), so the involvement of that mechanism was out of the question at this point. Alston said the video appeared to be genuine, and therefore, "it should be assumed that extra-judicial executions had occurred." It was therefore crucial to find out who carried them out, he had added.
However, the Government of Sri Lanka has questioned the authenticity of the uniforms worn by the shooters. It has also said that that the T-shirts worn were not standard Army issue and no Sri Lankan soldiers would have hair the length of gunmen depicted.
A letter dated January 5, 2010 from Alston had been handed over to the Sri Lanka's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva the next day (January 6). Soon after it was forwarded to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there was concern at the highest levels of the Government. Alston had in the letter alluded to the findings of the experts and declared he would make an official announcement at a news conference at the UN in New York on Thursday.
The immediate worry for the Government was the fear that such an announcement would have a bearing on the Presidential polls, particularly where Tamil votes are concerned. Foreign Secretary Romesh Jayasinghe immediately telephoned Alston to make a fervent appeal not to make the announcement. He pleaded that time be given for the Government of Sri Lanka to address the issues he had raised in his letter. Alston, however, declined to change his mind.
The next event to follow showed the ineptitude of those tasked to pursue Sri Lanka's foreign policy. Foreign Minister Rohita Bogollagama tried many times to telephone United Nations Secretary General Ban ki Moon. His calls were not put through to him. Instead, the Ban's staff had directed his calls to the Secretary General's Chief of Staff, Vijay Nambiar. Even efforts by Sri Lanka's UN ambassador Palitha Kohona failed. None could persuade Alston to delay his news conference, not even on the grounds that it would affect an electoral process in a democracy. The Government chose the next best thing.
Disaster Management and Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe, went live on Rupavahini's Eye channel to castigate Alston for his move. "This is ridiculous. No one is going to believe this fairy tale," he said. Samarasinghe challenged the encoded date (17th July) in the video footage and declared it referred to a period after the completion of military operations. He later told Rupavahini officials during an informal conversation the expert report contained several discrepancies.
The timing of the report, no doubt, led to wide international coverage for Alston's remark in the international media including television. Any other Government move is not likely until after the conclusion of the polls.
The Alston remarks also caused concern for the main Opposition parties for entirely different reasons. Some feared the Government may give the remarks at the news conference a spin and point the finger at the oppostion's 'common candidate', Gen. Fonseka. This is because of the accusations the latter made weeks earlier in an interview with The Sunday Leader.
He alleged that Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa had directed then Brigadier Shavindra Silva, General Officer Commanding the Army's 58 Division, to kill guerrillas who came to surrender. Gen. (retd.) Fonseka, then Commander of the Army, said he had heard of this from a journalist embedded with the Army during the final stages of the war in May last year. Opposition parties are examining the possibility of issuing a statement clarifying matters.
In the backdrop of Alston's remark, there was also another related development. There has been concerns expressed at the highest levels of the Indian Government in New Delhi over reports that UPFA leaders had asked Army top brass in Sri Lanka to hurriedly complete military operations against the guerrillas. This was before last year's parliamentary elections were concluded in India. It has been purportedly on the grounds that a victory for the Opposition Bharatiya Janatha Party (BJP) would give the guerrillas a respite. Such assertions it was felt could lead to fears of India being responsible for aiding or abetting in alleged civilian deaths.
The Sunday Times learnt that a request was made at the highest levels calling upon the Government of Sri Lanka to clarify matters immediately. This was done when Lalith Weeratunga, Secretary to the President, told the Island newspaper last Thursday that an Indian delegation had sought an "immediate halt to the war" when they met President Rajapaksa on April 24 last year. The delegation comprised National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan, then Foreign Secretary Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon and former Indian High Commissioner Alok Prasad. "With that categorical assertion, Sri Lanka cleared India. Otherwise, attempts would have been made to drag New Delhi into the so called 'war crimes' saga," an Asian diplomat said.
Despite denials to the contrary by UPFA leaders, the swing in favour of Gen. Fonseka, remains. So much so that the Opposition leaders privately expressed concern that the Fonseka campaign may be peaking a little too early. With 16 more days to go for the polls, a long period in politics, there is still time for the UPFA to spring surprises. With their backs to the wall, in a sense, they are turning up the under-dog that needs to hit back, and hit back hard. They have turned to attacking Fonseka's honesty and personal integrity. Equally, there are also opportunities for the Opposition parties to come to engineer more ruling party members to cross over as the wave towards their candidate gathers momentum. The cat and mouse game will surely continue.
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