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| Sunday, 5 January 2003 |
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In the aftermath of peace deliberations : Quo Vadis? by Air Vice, Marshall Harry Goonetileke We have seen some hectic activity on the peace front for nearly three months this year, first in Thailand on two occasions and now in Norway, also on two successive occasions until two weeks ago whereby a determined search was made by the two warring factions to find a lasting solution to our near 20 years old ethnic conflict, with the help of the international community brokered by Norway. Where is all this leading to? More importantly, what are the prospects - negative or positive - for the immediate and distant future of Sri Lanka and its peoples? At the outset, let me say quite categorically and with firm conviction that there is a silver lining in the cloud and it will not disappear for a long time to come, despite what the prophets of gloom and doom are predicting for us. Permit me to substantiate my statement with my own views and observations which I have maintained over the years at seminars here and abroad. This is an unwinnable war which has consumed over Rs. 600 billion in nearly two decades with no tangible results advantages shown by either side, except death (approx. 60,000) and vast devastation, not only in the North and East but right here in Colombo, one should also not forget the damage done to the economy which, for the first time registered less than zero growth last year. The rebuilding process in these areas, when it commences, is expected to cost even more billions of dollars for the international community in the coming years (approx. $ 700 million) which will be forthcoming only, and one can be certain of it, if and when a peace accord is signed by the contending parties. This is very briefly the background to our vision in respect of the future of our internal conflict. Where do we want to go from here? Scrap the talks if the LTTE does not renounce terror as a means to an end and surrender weapons as demanded by a parliamentary opposition? If the LTTE does not relent, then there is no alternative to war, if the parliamentary opposition too maintains a rigid stand. This is very unlikely, despite the loud noises now, as a change of regime if accomplished, will result in a hundred billion rupee war per year, resulting in greater destruction and death. Five years of it and we would have spent another Rs. 500 billion, very nearly the same amount we spent in 20 years, without any winners once again. But this time we will be left to fend for ourselves with the entire world looking the other way. Why do I say this? The international community has seen enough of our dilly dallying from the days of the Thimpu talks in the mid-eighties through to early 1996 when four Presidents representing the two main Sinhala parties, has not had the courage or conviction to pull the country out of a morass it has got into by not wanting to displease the majority community in any way with a political solution. No wonder, then, that the LTTE have reneged on talks every time the Sri Lankan government brokered negotiations. But now they, the international community, is seeing for the first time a new man, the Prime Minister, trying to deliver on his promise to the people made at the general election last year where he had a resounding victory in all the 23 districts bar one. There in-depth feeling and commitment can be seen by the fact that 40 countries participated in the aid consultations in Norway, where approx $ 70 million has been pledged initially with more to come after the bigger confab in March next year in Japan. Anti-state lobby The anti-state lobby led by former ministers and supported by their hierarchy are now making a mockery of the amount pledged initially by the international community at the Peace support confab and had sent a delegation to India to canvass counter proposals from the Indian Prime Minister, the main opposition party the Communist Party and Chief Minister Tamil Nadu, to sideline Norway and promote a Pro-Indian line in opposition to the SL Government/LTTE proposals with India playing the leading role. These power-hungry dissident elements are overjoyed that India was represented by a low-level diplomat (First Secretary) in Oslo preferring to ignore the fact that the Indian Judicial system has prescribed the LTTE, its leader being wanted for murder and therefore, it cannot sit in on official delebrations with 40 other countries although the USA and Britain was represented at high levels. India supportive India has always maintained that it is fully supportive of the peace process, reiterated again last week to none other than our Prime Minister, and "I am convinced that she would say the same thing once again to our mavericks from Sri Lanka, quite diplomatically of course, but nevertheless a snab to mind one's own business and steer clear of Indian External Affiars. They are even cantankerous that only $ 70 to 80 million has been pledged immediately, saying it is peanuts for the international community, disregarding the bigger donor conference in March next year where much more is expected at the end of the sixth round of talks with a round probably in S. Africa, and by which time much more progress would have been made on the political and socio-economic front. It is a great pity, and indeed absolutely humorous at least for the international community, that there is one delegation from the government in OSLO right now (at the time of writing) discussing core issues with the LTTE for a negotiated settlement of our ethnic conflict, and another delegation of four ex-ministers of the President of our country in New Delhi going in a different direction on the same issue!!! If this is not a classic example of a parallel form of government, then what is? Now, the hobby - horse or the whipping horse is the demented cry by the two main opposition Sinhala political parties of the establishment of LTTE law courts of Justice and police stations in the North and East purportedly in recent times after the MoU was signed in late February this year, replete with front page photographs in two leading newspapers, Sinhala and English, but from the same group. A hue and cry was made of it, which must have surely rocked the Sinhala south and even alarmed the minority Tamils, compelling a very agitated Prime Minister to demand from the newspaper group mentioning the name of the journalist who was behind it, to produce evidence of this 'fact'. The truth of the matter, as we all know now, is that these pictures were taken some time ago and they were in the uncleared areas of the battle zones. In fact they have been in existence from the '90s the first one in 1991 and more of them coming up from 1994 to 2001 during the previous regime. Hilarious It is extremely hilarious that the big powers, that be is now telling the Police and Armed Forces Chiefs to dismantle all of them as quickly as possible!! What could be the final verdict on this shameful and diabolical act was played on TV in the Jana Handa program of TNL on 2nd December when the Tamil member on the program, MP Mr. Raviraj challenged his Sinhala extremist colleagues from the Sihala Urumaya to come with him and show these places. This was accepted and they were to travel the next morning, 3rd December. The people are waiting anxiously with bated breath for the outcome of the journey and we hope very much if TNL will oblige us once again as we all want to know who is misleading the nation, or more simply, who is the liar? En Passant, there was a Presidential accusation in a leading Sunday Newspaper of 1st December, that some men of the PSD (Presidential Security Division) were to be blamed for the firing and subsequent killing of some of the seven Tamil civilians killed in the Kanchirankudah incident of 9th October in Titikkovil. As the Chairman of that Inquiry Board, this writer can state in no uncertain terms that no one ever mentioned a word of the PSD or its involvement, the full report of which was handed over to the Minister of the Interior on 8th November at a Press Conference at the Ministry of Defence. |
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