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| Sunday, 18 December 2005 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Consensus building takes centre stage by Jayatilleke de Silva
Only a month has elapsed since President Mahinda Rajapakse assumed office. He has started work with an unprecedented tempo and rhythm. A new budget was presented in a matter of three weeks. The Budget not only incorporated many proposals outlined in his election manifesto and some of them like the fertilizer subsidy have been implemented. What is more important he has started a process of political consultations with political parties both within and outside his electoral alliance in the quest for a Southern consensus on the National Question. Certainly, his style of work too is different from his predecessor. Punctuality is a virtue with him. If his example is followed by others in the political and administrative fields the country would be saving many valuable man hours now lost due to unpunctuality. The first act he did in initiating this process is to discuss with the JHU his plan of action. The JHU was known for its uncompromising stand on several issues including the nature of the state and the role of Norwegian facilitators. It is to the credit of the President that he has been able to convince the JHU of the need for pragmatism and flexibility in seeking a political solution to the National Question. The JHU has also shown political maturity. It is reported that the party is studying devolution of power in several countries with a view to find the best way forward for Sri Lanka. This is a far cry from the position that devolution was anathema. JVP flexibility Next, the President discussed with the JVP, which too has shown a far greater flexibility and understanding than before. The JVP has allowed the President to begin the peace process with Norway facilitation in spite of their vehement opposition to the latter's conduct. The remaining allies of the President in the UPFA have long-standing commitment to a negotiated solution of the civil conflict and their cooperation is a foregone conclusion. The next party that the President consulted was the UNP, the leading party in the Opposition. Contrary to many media reports the UNP has pledged to cooperate with the President in seeking a negotiated settlement. All this augurs well. The next task is to consult the minority parties including the TNA, the SLMC, the UPF, and the CWC . Already the SLMC and the CWC has expressed conditional support to the President's efforts. It would also be beneficial to consult members of the civil society groups and intellectuals as well as religious dignitaries who have the welfare of the country at heart. It is clear that the President is adopting a pragmatic step by step approach to the peace process. These consultations were conducted simultaneous to initiatives in the diplomatic front. Friendly governments including the Co-Chairs were briefed on the government's stand on peace. The Indian Government was briefed specially through the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Norwegian facilitation was revived, as it was the only practical way to begin. Despite calls to oust Norway from the facilitator role, the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) binds the Government to its facilitation. Any departure would be tantamount to a breach of the CFA. This role could be changed only with the consent of both parties to the CFA. It cannot be done unilaterally. Already the Norwegians are engaged in efforts to revive contacts between the two belligerent parties on the implementation of the CFA with a view to eliminate its shortcomings. The international community too has expressed full support to the efforts of the Government to revive the peace process. AS things stand today one could foresee the resumption of bilateral Government - LTTE talks on the CFA early next year. The above developments of the political and diplomatic front are unfortunately not accompanied by parallel positive developments at the ground level in the principal war affected zone - the Northeast. On the contrary, violence has escalated. For the first time after the CFA armed forces personnel have been attacked with claymore explosions. Isolated attacks on security posts are also becoming more frequent. Meanwhile, extra-judicial killings and kidnappings continue unabated. Human rights are being violated with impunity. No need to panic It is important to assess these developments soberly. As Army Command.r Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka explained, the situation in Jaffna is akin to what it was in the early 1980's before the events of Black July 1983. There is no need to panic, the security forces can handle the situation, he said. While the experienced and battle hardened military leaders analyse the situation thus, certain politicians, NGOs and self-styled military experts in the media profession interpret it differently. They say it is a prelude to imminent war. In fact some of them are even taking a countdown to D-day when the next Eelam War would breakout. In addition to the escalation of violence they cite the LTTE Leader's Maveerar Day Speech as evidence to prove their point. The much quoted statement referred to by these individuals is his pledge to restart the national liberation struggle next year if the Government does not quickly find a solution to the problem faced by the Tamil people. While the LTTE leader was careful enough not to qualify the struggle as war he was merely repeating what he said last year and the year before. This does not mean he promised to wait with folded arms. He gave a warning that 'mass struggle', interrupted due to the tsunami would be re-launched. Unfortunately war hysteria is being developed by interested parties despite denials by both the Government and the LTTE that they would not resort to war at this moment. Actually the war hysteria began with the decision of the LTTE to keep away from the November 17 election. It was interpreted as a move to get Mahinda Rajapakse elected so that the LTTE could find a pretext to resume the war citing uncompromising position of a future government led by him. The UNP in its post-election utterances also hinted at the possibility of war breaking out due to the presence of the JHU and the JVP in the coalition that supported President Rajapakse's election bid. In fact, it blamed those two parties when claymore mines exploded in Jaffna killing soldiers, thus reminding the people that war may break out. The hysteria did not die down after the President's policy statement, which extended the hand of friendship to the Tigers and the LTTE leaders utterance on Maveerar Day that he is ready to give President Rajapakse (a pragmatic man) a chance to seek negotiated peace. It was only two days ago that the Free Media Movement in a release on the military raid on the Eelanadu newspaper office in Jaffna casually mentioned, "war clouds are gathering by every passing day". The claymore mines as well as the military search operations in response to them do not yet signify that war is on the horizon. While we are also concerned about the threat to the freedom of expression brought about by the whole situation we do not find in it enough reason to warn of an imminent war threat. War weary people The people of the Northeast have seen the benefits of even the negative peace that dawned since the CFA. These war weary people do not wish to go back to war and its deprivations. Therein lies the principal force against the resumption of war by the LTTE. They do not want their lives, however slowly they rebuild it, to go up in ashes once more. Nor can the LTTE fail to read the writing on the wall in the context of the War on Terror and international sanctions that are being brandished against them in Western capitals. The media has a more constructive role to play at this juncture. Instead of beating war drums and feeding negative stories it could report positive developments in the peace front - the re-activisation of the Norwegian facilitation, the offer of Japan to host CFA talks and the Government's willingness to hold these talks in an Asian country. It is regrettable that biased media institutions continue to fabricate news to misinform the public as to the current developments. For example we could cite stories to the effect that Norway has placed certain conditions before it could accept the request for renewed facilitation. As a statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs clarified the discussions between the Government and Norway had centred round the importance of formulating a more professional and broad-based approach instead of the personalised approach of the past. Obviously it is not the welfare of the people but the sectarian interests of their misguided political gurus these media acolytes have at heart. |
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