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| Sunday, 18 December 2005 |
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Grasping the nettle Sunday Essay by Ajith Samaranayake The Sri Lankan political chiaroscuro appears to be re-forming in its familiar dismal pattern now that the dust has settled on the hustings and the last hurrah has been shouted. The political parties have gone back to their old postures and the familiar accusations and counter-accusations are being mouthed. Part of the problem, of course, was the close nature of the contest and Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe's feeling of having been robbed of victory but yet it is a sorry commentary on contemporary politics that the UNP is not ready to extend to the new President the customary honeymoon period. Be that as it may (and what is not) the spectacle is comic and bizarre in degrees. After the initial shadow boxing following its defeat the UNP seems to have settled down to an uneasy peace. The CWC appears to be dogged by a phobia that a conspiracy is afoot to split the party. Others of varying persuasions are content to wait and see. The JVP is keeping up the morale of its membership by taking periodic pot shots at the Government. On all fronts there is a temporary lull. Now that the Budget has been presented President Rajapakse's next priority will be the peace process and in this context the President's visit to India later this month and the meeting this week in Hong Kong between Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera and the Foreign Minister of the Royal Norwegian Government can be considered as curtain raisers. It is significant that President Rajapakse has called for continuing Norwegian mediation in spite of displeasure towards that country even among some of his allies. However he has made the point that Norway can not be both facilitator and ceasefire monitor and this point seems to have been well taken. Certainly a wider-ranging monitoring mission more representative of the international community will go a long way towards obviating fears which exist among sections of Sinhala opinion that the monitors have been partial to the LTTE. President Rajapakse's visit to New Delhi will be significant not only because it is his first as Head of State to our friendly neighbour but also because of his avowed belief that India should play a greater role in the peace process. The President will no doubt spell out his thinking in greater detail in his talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh including a possible role for India as one of the Co-Chairs of the donor group presiding over the peace process. It has to be noted that this attitude contrasts sharply with the attitude towards Indian intervention, mediation call it what you will on the part of previous UNP Governments. Then India was treated as an interloper and unwelcome guest. India's good offices extended in the aftermath of Black July when thousands of Tamils were killed was only grudgingly accepted. Even when the Indian Peace-Keeping Force arrived in July 1987 to enforce the Indo-Lanka Accord they were treated with hostility and were being soon asked to leave by President Premadasa. It has to be conceded that this change was due to India's own perception of the LTTE changing in the aftermath of Rajiv Gandhi's assassination but yet on the whole this change of attitude on the part of substantial sections of Sri Lankan opinion is to be welcomed. It will not be in the interests of any section of Sri Lankans to view India as the Big Brother having designs on us, a phobia some powerful sections of opinion have suffered from since Independence. Perhaps it took the intervention of Norway to send us to the Indian embrace but whatever the reason it is a welcome change. For its part the international community and the European powers in particular must be mindful of that section of Sri Lankan sentiment which sees them as being partial to the LTTE. While it is not necessary to demonise Norway or the European Union countries as covert agents of the LTTE (as particularly some expatriate Sinhalese are won't to do) these countries too must realise that their attitude towards the LTTE needs to change. At the beginning of the conflict and particularly after the barbarous acts of July 1983 there was some justification to see the LTTE as a set of freedom fighters defying a tyrannical Government. But now with their continued induction of child soldiers and their fratricidal killings (including those of practically every charismatic non-LTTE Tamil leader) the Tigers' own tyranny menaces the Tamil people. But however much international perceptions might change, in the last analysis the solution lies at home. That is why the consultations which President Rajapakse is now carrying out with the national political parties are crucial. He is faced with the difficult task of forging a wide-ranging consensus on the devolution of power on the broadest possible scale which he can offer the LTTE. This is important because in the past what has been offered and spurned have come as only Government proposals. Given the chicanery and opportunism of the political parties as grimly borne out by past experience this is a daunting task. But this is the only way. Will our national leadership have the courage, foresight and a sense of community to grasp the nettle? |
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