The Political Column

23rd May 1999

Peace talks after southern polls

By our Political Correspondent

A major reorganisation of the SLFP — the main constituent party of the ruling People's Alliance — is on the cards.

Recently, Ministers Anuruddha Ratwatte, C. V. Gooneratne and Miathripala Sirisena held discussions with party officials at the Darley Road headquarters.

General Ratwatte remarked that the party appeared to be inactive and said there was a need for new life and dynamism in party activities.

He said the hierarchy was working out a reorganisation plan. But when it would be implemented is in doubt because of a possibility of an early presidential election.

Many analysts believe that President Kumaratunga would decide on an early presidential election after the June 10 poll in the south because she believes the prospects now are good.

Before that, she is likely to revive the devolution package which has been lying under the table for some time now. She is also likely to make a new effort to regain minority support which was said to be on the decline because of what minority parties saw as government vacillation on the political solution to the ethnic conflict. In the recent provincial election, the Colombo district really showed a swing in the minority vote towards the UNP and the President would need to regain at least part of that support if she is to retain the presidency.

The President's plan apparently is to bring the devolution package to parliament and thus put the UNP in a dilemma. If the UNP supports the package it will be in trouble with the hardline lobby. If it opposes the package, the minorities are likely to throw their weight behind the President.

In the Colombo district, especially, most of the Tamil people want a peaceful solution to the conflict. The party which works towards such a solution is likely to get their vital support. Both the PA and the UNP are quite aware of this and are likely to woo the minorities in whatever way possible. This was evident in the way the President handled the dispute between the CWC-led estate coalition and the Sinhala Weeravidana, a group affiliated to the National Movement Against Terrorism.

When CWC leader S. Thondaman warned he would withdraw support from the PA, the President pacified him and told him not to take hasty decisions because of minor administrative lapses.

Mr. Thondaman is again claiming a vote base of some 500,000 after several parties representing the people of Indian origin got together in a coalition. But the Thondaman vote base is known to be on the decline since 1997 though clear statistics are not available. At the April 6 provincial election, the CWC-led coalition got a total of only nine seats compared to 17 at the 1993 elections.

But Mr. Thondaman with his experience and dexterity has kept himself as a key figure in the political arena. He still believes that he is a king-maker and that he is the only person who could tilt the scales in favour of either of the two major parties.

On the other hand, the President needs the votes of the majority Sinhala Buddhist community also. For this, she believes her party must play an important role but it must be restructured for the campaign. Among other things, she is clearly unhappy over the performance of the veteran general secretary Dharmasiri Senanayake. Some in the party are pushing for Mangala Samaraweera to take over but others want Mr. Senanayake to continue with a new dynamism. But Mr. Senanayake is known to prefer a joint effort between him and PA General Secretary D. M. Jayaratne.

Eventually, it is likely that Mr. Samaraweera would become the general secretary with the President's backing and she is known to be taking steps to counter any opposition to this move.

If the party does not agree on her choice, she might, as she did earlier, threaten to pull out of the party or even the presidency. She knows well that at present she is the key figure to win elections.

Mr. Samaraweera's role as the party general secretary has been discussed by many. At a recent businessmen's lunch held at a Matara tourist hotel, Mr. Samaraweera spelt out his plans for the Matara district and told the businessmen what he had done so far. Minister Mahinda Rajapakse who was also there said he also had a right to talk since he had his roots in Matara from where his mother hailed.

He told the businessmen, including some UNPers and supporters of other parties, to make use of Minister Samaraweera as he was closer to the President than any other in the PA.

Mr. Rajapakse told the businessmen to make use of this good-looking man.

Mr. Samaraweera was apparently amused by the remarks and told Mr. Rajapakse later he wondered whether it was a compliment or something else.

He also remarked that Mr. Rajapakse should not pay such compliments in the presence of the President because she might think he was doing on Mr.Samaraweera's prompting.

Whatever the stakes or battles within the party, the PA has gone into full gear in the south with lots of big government functions being held there and thousands of jobs being given. But most voters today are politically mature and know the difference between genuine offers and political stunts.

In a major election speech, President Kumaratunga again pledged the government would end the war soon and introduce the constitutional reforms before the end of her term. She seems to be confident that both she herself and the PA would be re-elected. In talks linked to the devolution package, Constitutional Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris has met separately EPDP leader Douglas Devananda, EPRLF's Suresh Premachandra and former chief minister Varatharajah Perumal.

Mr. Devananda is reported to have proposed a step by step approach — the government first introducing areas where there is agreement among the major parties. He feels it is better to do it that way instead of waiting for the whole package to be agreed upon.

Mr. Premachandra and Mr. Perumal had also welcomed this idea. But the government leaders are wondering whether there would be much purpose in introducing secondary matters without tackling crucial issues. Minister Peiris is known to have reservations about the piece by piece idea.

Despite months of efforts by negotiators of the business community, the PA and the UNP are still to reach agreement on vital areas: (1) whether it should be unitary, federal or quasi-federal, (2) the unit of devolution, (3) Police powers to be devolved, (4) land alienation powers to be devolved, (5) the obtaining of foreign funding by the provincial/regional councils.

Mr. Perumal, is also calling on the government to go ahead with the election to the north-east provincial council as soon as possible. He wants an interim administration till then.

The business community delegation led by Ceylinco Group chief Lalith Kotelawala, met PA leaders twice during the week to discuss areas of differences.

They are drawing up a document clearly explaining areas where there are differences and where there is agreement between the two major parties.

At the first meeting Ministers G.L. Peiris and M.H.M. Ashraff were present along with governors Neville Kanakaratne and K. Viknarajah. But for the second meeting Mr. Ashraff was not present. Minister Peiris informed the business leaders that the PA was ready at any time for talks to narrow down the differences between the major parties. But the UNP is reported to have said it would be willing to hold talks with the PA only after the southern elections.

Mr. Kotelawala told the PA delegation that the UNP had asked for time to study the document presented by the business community and would meet them again after the June 10 elections.

Prof. Peiris told the business delegation that President Kumaratunga had advised him to give maximum flexibility to accommodate the UNP proposals in the package, so long as they meet the minimum aspirations of the minority communities.

The UNP delegation headed by A.C.S. Hameed and comprising Ronnie de Mel, K.N. Choksy and D. Swaminathan has yet to take a decision in consultation with party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The UNP hierarchy is known to be uncertain as to whether it should agree to meet directly with the PA. This and other controversies came up when some former and present UNPers met at a wedding in Colombo in a relaxed atmosphere. Among them were Sirisena Cooray, M.H. Mohamed, Susil Moonesinghe and Pradeep Hapangama.

Mr. Cooray started the ball rolling by asking Mr. Moonesinghe about reports that he was planning a revolt within the UNP.

"What is it all about" Mr. Cooray asked and Mr. Moonesinghe in a swift reply described it as an internal plant.

Then Mr. Cooray turned towards Mr. Hapangama and asked whether they were responsible for planting anything in the newspapers. Mr. Hapangama giving an evasive answer said he was unable to comment since he was living between two worlds. But Mr. Cooray said that if the UNP was a democratic party, members should be free to discuss any differences.

Mr. Moonesinghe interjecting at this stage said chief Whip W.J.M. Lokubandara had refuted rumours that they had discussed any conspiracy plan.

Noting that UNPers were reluctant to talk or discuss things, Mr. Cooray said this was the big problem in the UNP today. He said some members could not talk to him freely and appeared to be scared.

Thereafter, the topic changed to Anura Bandaranaike's position in the party and why he had addressed meetings only organised by Hemakumara Nanayakkara in the south.

Mr. Cooray said Mr. Bandaranaike was a decent person who listened to seniors but the UNP was not making full use of him.

Another significant development this month was the arrest of Lakbima journalist Srilal Priyantha.

It now appears that some of the allegations levelled against him may have been concocted by interested parties in the defence establishment. But others think there is some basis to the charges and that the CID would not make a such a blunder.

Mr. Priyantha has been accused of five murders, but he has been questioned only on three of them. He has denied all the charges.

A group of journalists met Mr. Priyantha at the remand prison at Welikade on Thursday. Mr. Priyantha said he was stripped and questioned after being taken into custody by CID officers.

He claimed one of the officers who questioned him was among those who abducted him in March this year. His abductors were among the officers who questioned him.

The document issued by the government Information Department charged that Mr. Priyantha was a hard-core member of the JVP but party spokesman Wimal Weerawansa said he had never been a member.

Mr. Priyantha was met by civil rights advocate Desmond Fernando who will take up the matter soon.

Some journalists feel that the abduction of Mr. Priyantha in March and the arrest recently had been staged as a warning to other investigative and defence correspondents who are exposing corruption in the defence establishment.

Journalists and analysts are wondering whether any connections lie between the crimes alleged to have been committed by Mr. Priyantha and his exposures in the press, and questions are being asked whether someone is trying to take revenge on Mr. Priyantha for his writings on alleged corruption by some senior officers in the security forces.

They maintain that if there were charges of corruption against senior officers, they should have been investigated and if Mr. Priyantha is wrong, he could have been dealt with according to the defamation laws of the country.

So far no defamation case as been filed against him and thus it could be assumed that what he wrote may have had some basis in fact.

As for the murder charges against Mr. Priyantha, it is generally agreed that they should be investigated and if there is a prima facie case, the law could take its course.

The link-up between the murder charges against him and his reports which allegedly caused a loss of morale in the security forces, has led to speculation that it may be more than a legal matter.

Another question which is being asked is why Sri Lanka's police detectives have failed to trace any clues of the abductors of Mr. Priyantha.

Is the government saying that his exposures are less than valid since he is allegedly involved in several murders? If Mr. Priyantha has allegedly been involved in criminal activities, does it absolve senior officials of the forces if they in fact involved in corrupt practices according to Mr. Priyantha?

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