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| Sunday, 17 March 2002 |
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Anti-peace groups are "cranks" - Tyronne Fernando Foreign Affairs Minister Tyronne Fernando has lashed out at communal extremist groups opposed to the current peace process calling them "cranks" and "total reactionaries". Referring to the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna as well as the Sihala Urumaya and hardline Sinhala activists, the Foreign Minister, in a short interview with the 'Sunday Observer' on Wednesday, called on the electorate to vote in this week's local government elections to reject such anti-peace groups and endorse the peace process. The Minister also criticised sections of the mass media for giving these groups publicity. The Foreign Minister pointed out that the JVP, which now seemed to be championing the cause of the Sinhalese, had terrorised the entire population and killed thousands of Sinhalese during the second insurgency it launched in 1987 against the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord. "What right has the JVP to talk about the rights of the Sinhalese when they killed so many Sinhalese and not killed a single Tiger?" the Foreign Minister asked. "They are, as usual, trying to raise some issue and set the country ablaze again. The people don't want this kind of trouble again. They want peace," he added. Mr. Fernando referred to the Sihala Urumaya, other extremist groups and, various hardline Sinhala activists and noted that "these people don't accept the concept of a multi-cultural and multi-lingual society". He said that he believed that the Sri Lankan electorate would reject the anti-peace policies advocated by these groups just they have done in recent elections. Asked whether these hardline groups could be persuaded to reconsider their opposition to the peace process, the Minister declared: "They are total reactionaries, there is no hope for them." "They think that Sri Lanka should be solely for the Sinhalese. For example, they would like to see a 100 per cent Sinhala cricket team! As a former President of the Board of Control for Cricket I know how our cricket has benefited from the contribution of players of minority groups," Mr. Fernando observed, adding that he was "sorry that some sections of the media are giving so much publicity to these cranks". The Foreign Minister said that since the formal ceasefire agreement had been signed, there had not been a single breach of the Agreement. He expected the current peaceful atmosphere to continue to prevail, noting that the LTTE had warned its cadres to strictly observe the conditions of the Agreement. He pointed out that the President had welcomed the Peace Agreement, although she had drawn attention to what she considered to be problematic aspects. "We are happy that she has welcomed it. However, she is under pressure from various groups. She is also obviously smarting from the electoral defeat her party has suffered at the recent elections," Mr. Fernando said. The Minister said that substantive political negotiations were likely to begin in May or early June, once the framework of the talks had been finalised. Such matters as the venue and time frame would be worked out with the help of the Norwegian facilitating team, he said. |
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