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| Sunday, 23 May 2004 |
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Editor, Sunday Observer. E-mail: [email protected] Snail mail : Sunday Observer, 35, D.R.Wijewardana Mawatha, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Telephone : 94 11 2429239 / 2331181 Fax : 94 11 2429230 Pursuing peace : Challenges ahead We are witnessing heightened activity in the peace front after the assumption of power by the UPFA Government. There is shuttle diplomacy at an enhanced pace. If all goes well, talks between the government and the LTTE are likely to be resumed in a couple of months. It is opportune at this moment to recall the pitfalls and shortcomings in the peace process so as to avoid a repetition of the same under the present dispensation. Besides criticism of a propagandist nature, which even sections of the communal minded fringe admired, the People's Alliance had valid criticisms that should have been taken seriously by the UNF. Foremost among valid criticisms was the exclusion of the Executive President from the peace process. This makes it imperative for the UPFA to involve the Opposition also in the peace deliberations. In other words, all stakeholders should be included in the peace process. The peace process conducted by the UNF lacked transparency, which gave room for anti-peace elements to gather support as the process moved forward. It was also elitist in nature with only a few of the trusted lieutenants of the Prime Minister being privy to what happened at the negotiations. Even the Parliament was kept in the dark. The negotiators lacked experience and skill so much so that the LTTE ridiculed them from time to time. They lacked authority and very often they had to consult the PM in the middle of negotiations. In this respect, the president has to be commended for appointing Jayantha Dhanapala, a veteran diplomat much versed in the art of negotiations as the Head of the Peace Secretariat. It is also a sign that the government means business. Nor did the UNF make use of the media to assist the peace process. When different spokesmen of the government spoke in different voices, it confused both the media and the public. It would be appropriate here to recall that the President proposed to constitute a representative apex consultative body to assist the peace process. Now it is for the UPFA to follow the President's initiative. The UPFA, unlike the UNF, has also to take into account the new forces that have emerged on the scene like the Jatika Hela Urumaya. The UNF, while paying lip service to peace building may instigate the JHU as its proxy to sabotage any good work done in the peace front. The only way these challenges could be faced is to take the people into confidence and build a mass peace movement at grassroots level. The great renunciation Sonia Gandhi has renounced the Premiership of the world's second most populous country despite the rebuttal by the masses of the venomous anti-Sonia campaign conducted by her opponents - the BJP and its allies declaring her unsuitable to lead the country as she is of foreign origin and despite being elected unanimously as the Leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party. The latter by tradition entitles her to be the Premier as the Congress is the largest Party in the Lok Sabha. In fact hundreds and thousands of distressed party supporters are demonstrating, appealing to her to reconsider her decision. Yet Sonia remains unshaken as the mighty Himalayas in her resolve to shun the coveted post. This is a rare feat of courage and determination by South Asian standards where the norm is squabbling for portfolios. By renouncing the premiership, which effortlessly fell to her lap she has put the country above self-interest. In her opinion, the acceptance of the premiership would have strengthened divisive forces when the need of the hour was maximum unity of secular forces. With the BJP swearing to boycott the inauguration of the new government on account of her foreign birth, it would have entangled the Congress party and its allies in an unwanted struggle that would distract its attention from the more urgent and fundamental issues before them. What a great difference from the practice in Sri Lanka where the Government and the Opposition spends most of their time fighting over petty issues and non-issues neglecting the major issues of the day. In a country where even defeated candidates clamour for portfolios and enter Parliament through the back door many politicians on both sides of the House may find it difficult to understand or appreciate Sonia Gandhi's sacrifice. Yet it would receive the undivided acclaim of our masses. |
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