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| Sunday, 5 June 2005 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Re-enactment of historic scenarios From Bandaranaike-Chelvanayagam pact to Post-tsunami Operational Management Structure - PTOMS Continued from last week by Janadasa Peiris It is not a division of the country. Nor is it a Federal system, not even an interim administration. In short it is not a devolution of power either. On a close analysis it can be discerned as a victory for the JVP as against a retreat for the President and the LTTE. The JVP is not for devolution of political power but for the devolution of administrative power. PTOMS is capable of only regularizing administrative activities now being efficiently handled under the Government of Sri Lanka. It is basically an administrative structure. It is an administrative structure where the Government at present is not directly involved but will provide an opportunity for the Government to intervene. It provides an opportunity for the Government to be active in areas beyond border lines as set out in the Ceasefire Agreement. The composition of the mechanism with regard to ethnic ratios can be negotiated. It is no secret that various forces are sniffing around to sabotage the implementation of this mechanism. It is in a way a reminiscence of the protests of the 1957-1958 era. A section of the Buddhist clergy is apparently opposing it through misunderstanding as they did before.The JVP too has shown their antagonism. The protests of both these parties are understandable. It may be that they are convinced that they are correct in terms of their accepted theory. But, what cannot be understood is the attitude of the UNP. During the period 2001 to 2004 they had nothing else to brag about than the "Peace Process". They used to brand as enemies of peace, each and everyone who criticised the peace process even minutely. They sought nobody's participation other than themselves and the LTTE. By and large, what happened was mostly the Government danced to the tune of the LTTE. The peace endeavour of the Freedom Alliance is quite different. With all her flexibility President Kumaratunga never attempted to divide the country or to betray it. Even under the present circumstances her actions are prioritizing the national security and the territorial integrity of the country. She never forgets to consult the opinions of all other parties. Even with the major allies of her Government she acts with a great deal of patience and discipline. On May 2, last, she invited Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe to participate in a discussion on PTOMS scheduled for May 9. But on May 6 UNP Chairman Malik Samarawickrama responded on behalf of Ranil Wickremesinghe and informed her that there was no necessity to discuss PTOMS at this stage. The strategy of the UNP is to show its willingness to tsunami relief and reconstruction on the one hand while creating confusion in the country by arousing the antagonistic parties on the other hand. Going by this double standards attitude, Wickremesinghe refused to attend both the Peace Advisory Council and POMS discussion. Ranil Wickremesinghe who anticipates a sudden breakaway from the Government (the elements opposed to the tsunami mechanism), believes he could win the Presidential Election which would follow. He is neither intent upon providing relief to the people of the North-East nor concerned about putting the peace endeavour on the correct tract. He wants to confuse this programme. That is why even by now he has remarked that the Government has already mixed up (anaagena) the peace process. They are making all possible attempts to debit to the Government account not only ideological differences that emerge, but also the political killings and thuggery that take place in the country. They are targeting to create unrest in the country. That was exactly what they did in 1957-1958. In the year 2000 they repeated this strategy both in Parliament and at discussions. These are the very people who practise silence on the surface while working out an under current to disrupt the joint mechanism. The United People's Freedom Alliance led by President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga is fully well aware of this strategy of the UNP. All the JVP leaders who addressed the meeting held at the Colombo Town Hall grounds on May 10 spoke with responsibility and displayed their awareness of this strategy very clearly. The JVP is politically proficient enough to escape the death trap set by Ranil Wickremesinghe. Whatever the ideologies they hold, they will certainly not embark on the racist "carol chariot". That is clear. In 1966, the leftist parties through lack of foresight opposed the Tamil Language Provision Act and got branded as racists. The JVP will be cautious enough to avoid that black spot from scarring their party. On the other hand the President, unlike her father in 1957 and 1958 will surely not go to the extent of tearing up agreements through fear of extremist influences. The general public opinion that developed later is that the present generation's untold sufferrings over the ethnic problem are the result of non-implementation of the Bandaranaike-Chelvanayagam Pact which was given up in the face of opposition by the extremists. If that is so, supposing the President were to be compelled to withdraw the establishment of the POMS which opens up the long way for a future peaceful solution, it would be a reversal of the progress of this country, taking it back 50 years. Prevention of the re-enactment of that untoward episode of the abrogation of the B-C pact on the historical political arena of this country is the responsibility of all political forces equipped with wisdom.
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