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/ 28
A y 4 2 Soar ers NRSC TY
GUARDIAN oe
A oe ee ae
eC UCC TC
CROC |
|
| THE TAMILS
“ ca la
| THE PACKAGE AND
THE wil. corn tamis UNP, PA
AND THE TAMILS
Teun CURRENT ICES PUBLICATIONS
BHUTAN NEPAL REFUGEE ISSUE
A Report of a Fact Finding Mission to Nepal May 1-7, 1995 by Niaz Naik and Bradman.
Weerakoon. 1995. 19pp. Rs. 50.00
THE BO-ATTE MASSACRE AND THE KEBETIGOLLAWA REFUGEE CAMP
A Report on the attack on Bo-Atte village in the North-Cé
1995 and other attacks in the Anuradhapura District. 1995.
ral Province on October 21,
‘ap Rs. 50,00
CHITTAGONG HILL TRACTS; DISPLACEMENT MIGRATION AND ACCOMMODATION.
‘A Report by Devendra Raj Panday and Jeevan Thiagarajah. September 1996. 26p.
DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS, by Neelan Triuchelvam (Tamil). 1996, 296pp, Hard-
cover: Rs. 300.00; Paperback Rs. 200.00
EVOLUTION AND DEVELOPMENT IN SRI LANKA
Edited by Sunil Bastian. 1994 232pp Rs. 250.00,
ELECTORAL POLITICS IN PAKISTAN: NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS 1993
Report of SAARC-NGO Observers. 1955. 196pp. Rs. 250
IDEOLOGY AND THE CONSTITUION: ESSAYS ON CONSTITUTIONAL JURISPRU-
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Hardcover Rs. 300.00; Paperback Rs. 200.00
LIVING WITH TORTURERS AND OTHER ESSAYS OF INTERVENTION; SRI LANKAN
SOCIETY, CULTURE AND POLITICS IN PERSPECTIVE, by Sasanka Perera. 1995. 89pp.
Rs. 150.00
THE LOST LENORE; A TALE, by Regi Sitiwardena. 1996. 100pp. Rs. 130.00
OCTET COLLECTED PLAYS, by Regi Siriwardena. 1995. 172pp. Rs. 175.00
SRI LANKA: THE DEVOLUTION DEBATE. 1996. 255pp. Rs. 250.00
TAMIL AS OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT, by A. Theva Rajan.
5. 126pp. Rs. 150.00
WRITING SOCIAL SCIENCES: A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO WRITING TRADITION, by
Sasanka Perera. (Sinhala). 1996. 74pp. Rs. 110.00
ALL ORDERS TO: International Centre for
Ethnic Studies, 2, Kynsey Terrace, Colombo 8. NEWS BACKGROUND.
POLITICAL ARENA AS FREE-FIRE ZONE
Political violence has been no casual
tourist to Sri Lanke, advertised by the
Tourist Hoard and Air Lanka as ‘a taste
of paredigo’. It hae boon a permanent
resident since the 1950's. A vibrant
pailiementary democracy, Sri Lanka
Which celebrates its 50th
Independence Anniversary next year
has been ravaged by communal riots,
threatened by an army coup.
(morcifully abortive) and # Sinhala
youth insurgency, fashionably dubbed
Gueveriat, in 1971. It hac boon
compelled to host an Indian Peace-
keeping Force {larger than the Sri
Lankan army) which in turn offered the
‘VP another opportunity to challenge
the State, by launching an isiand-wide
campaign of violence, Velupillei
Prabhakaran and his Liberation Tigers
of Tamil Eolam (LTTE) made separatism
rather than “eovialiem” the most
Deng Ninoping
py oer
ores
eres aes
eee rer era
Riceass eerie:
| China over the death of
biareeeeet ty att emer
outstanding leader of the
Comamnist Party of China
Ieee cetera
iat Erasiiiece re
IReorcanies tse nore)
Ronee oentecs
foRseeetermert yee tt
iPeerecne eer trots
(irae Mos ments
iestomsrriteremy ee es
Sit omens
[eee ce ha
serious threat to the Sri Lankan stato,
tunity and territorial mtegrity of the
ister.
Ratnapure and Its aftermath could be
‘a naw challenge. If Ratnapura does not
fit the familiar patterns of pre- 0° post
election violence —— and only the
Courts can finally identity the guilty
parties —— it ie the oxtreordinary
1e Canton,
Restaurant which makes it thought
provoking, First of ecurse the choice
of target, An extiemely well patrorisee
Chinase Restaurant owned by a UNP
MP MicSereth Kongzhace This excerpt
from a report by Aaine Wickramatunga
and Dilshani Samaraweera of the
Sunday Leader is.a vivid scene-settor:
‘commando-type attack on
“A group of about 10 Sindhi
businessman and their families who
are also regulars at the Restaurant,
had left a whilo oarlier as had ancther
smeller PL. aroup. Earlier in the night
Shantini had been introduced to two
prominent tour operators from Taiwan.
by Shelton de Alwis, Managing
Director of Asian Wings Ltd.
Discussions had centred on bringing
in Taiwanese lunch groups to Canton
somewhere in June, At the VIP room,
the gueste were chatting anay after
dinner, unaware of the nightmarish
drama that was to unfold in a fow
minutes”
If thay had indeed known what would
happen next, the Taiwanese would
probably have rushed to the Liberty
Cinama, across the road, to watch
Teinted Lave (Adults Only) or apply to
the Chinase embassy for a visa, now
that Deng Tsiae-Peng was dead.
CANTON OR CHICAGO?
“N raider with & sword barges into @
room where Sarath and his guests are
Seated and shouts Kengahage KO?
He breaks the glass door while another
36408
Mervyn de Silva
with 0 T66 stande with 2 gun pointed
at the quests, The firing in the fish tank
hits the lighte and the room is plungad
into darkness, Sarath in dark suit had
some luck that day for he had an eye
infection and was wearing dark glasses
looking like a present-day Zorro, So the
raiders didn’t know Kongahage wes
Konganege
Contd on page 24
LPN BLA
GUARDIAN
‘Maven 08, 1997
Price Rs.1§.00
Published fortaighly by
Lanka Guardian Publishing Co.Ltd
No.249, Union Piac
Colambo 02.
Tel/Fax 447584
E-mail - guardian@esrilanka,net
Editor in Chief » Merryn de Silva
Editor Dayan Jayatlieka
Cover Photography
Ravi Prasad Horath
A. Lokuhapuarachehi (Reuters)
Printed by :
United Publishing House (Pvt. ltt
CONTENTS
Mervyn de Silva
Tisarange Gunasekara
OxMagiudal Hasan Nari
DLO.Mendis
2.Mthulingar
ci,
Janzsaviva See
THE RQ AD FROM {
On the 12h of February 1997, Nalanda
Eliawala, PA parliamentarian for the
Fatnapura distiict. was shot to death
‘The two main suspects in this crime,
UNP parliamentarian Susantha
Puncliniarne and the UNP candidate fer
Ratrapura mayorsity, Mahinda
Ratnatilaka, are currently in police
‘custody, According to the Lankan Penal
Code a suspect is considered innocent
Luntil he/she is proven guilty ina fair trial
bya courtof law. And the onus of proof
is on the prosecution. It is only the
appropriate courts of law which can
Uecide on the guilt land the decree of
guilt) or innocence of « euspect and the
ature of the punishment to be accorded
to those who are found guilty.
The conduct of the PA regime in the
aftermath of the Ellawalakiling indicates
thet @ blatant, politically motivated
intorforence in the due procoss of law
ison the caids. The PA leadership seem
to be taking upon itself the combined
Toles of judge, iury end avenger. For
instance, teke the following
pronouncements made by President
Chand tka Bandaranaike Kumaratunge at
‘an olaction rally in Kalutara : "There was
absolutely 0 reason to Kili Nelenda
Blewsls. Thore was no centroncation
‘among the two groups at afl - they just
pulled out a gun and shot him”. (Deily
News) Now itis only at 2 fair trial that it
can be decided whether there was any
confrontation or net and whe fired the
Jivot shot; tat decision belongs solely
to the appropriste court of law and not
to any politician, however exalted.
‘Thats not all. Said the Presitent: “iWe)
are prepaied (0 give any punishment
recommended by you li,e. the
participants at the PA election rally) ir
not using this law, then by bringing
another lew The maximum
punishment which can be given to therm
if not through this law then by bringing
another lew. (Kalutera relly -
Rupavahini telecast)
Murder is not 2 crime that is nev to Sti
Lanka, and Nalanda Eilewala is not the
first Lankan poitician to be killed during
@ period of normalcy. After all the
President's own father, Prime Minister
SWRD Bandaranaike was assassinated
by some of his disgruntled allies in 1959
= surely 2 much more dastardly crime
than the kiling of Nalanda Ellawele, not
only because the victim was unarmed;
hhe didn’t even eve the protection of an
armed bodyguard. The kiling was also
unambiguously premeditated. Despite
the heinous nature of the crime and
despite the fact that it was the first
assassination of a politcal leader in the
post independence SriLanke, there were
ho attempts to introduce ‘special laws
The suspects were tried under the
prevailing law and some of them were
found guilty, The only excention vas that
the death penalty which was abolished
by Prime Minisier Benderanalke was re-
instituted
UNDUE PROCESS
1 the prevailing law was adequate 10
deal with the assassination of SWRD
Bandaranaike why does his daughter
say that the sare law is Inadequate 10
eal with tha kiling of Nalanda Ellawale?
What kind of special laws does the
President havo in mind? And what
exactly does she mean when she says
that the people can recommend any
punishment for the culprits - and thet
this f the ounistiment that vill be mated
‘out? What does she moan by “people”?
A supporters ox allctizens of Sn Lanka?
How will this decision be meda and how
‘will t be conveyed to the authorities?
Doesn't this amount to e gioss
interference in the due process of law?
Tisaranee Gunasekara
‘And what does the President mean by
harshest possible punishment?” Is she
implying that death by hanging (which
's the punishment normaly accorded to
those guilty of first degree murces) is
‘ot hash enough? If so, then what
would satisfy the Presidential criteria of
harshest possible punishment? The
fentsocustion of the $2 tortures much
utilised by ancient Sinhala kings ... and
queens?
The dangerously intemperate language
used by the President end her declared
intention of going beyond the normal lay
of the land in order to punish those she
believes to be the killers of Elawala in a
manner she deems satistactory, clearly
indicate that what the President wents
's not justice but revenge. in fact these
Presidential pronouncements ave.
curiously and disturbingly simiar to the
following statement made by sitlers
deputy Hermann Gossing: “Fellow
Germans, my measures will not be
crippled by any judicial thinking. My
‘measures will not be cripoled by any
bureaucracy. Here |don'thave to worry
about justice, my mission is only to
destroy and exterminate Nothing more”
(Speech at Frankfurt on Main 3.3.3
Nuremberg Documents). it should
perhaps be borne in mind that the
introduction of special laws was a
stiategy much used by Adoif Hitler 10
destroy his political enemies: the
Enabling Lew (of 1993) played a major
role in Hitler's success full efforte at
establishing @ dictatorship after he
assumed the office of Chancellor by
democratic means,
THE ROAD TO KUROWITA
The killng of Nalanda Ellawals has to
be condemned and those who are found
guilty in ¢ fair tral of this crime should
be punished. But Nelanda Ellawale was fot the only member of @ democratic
political perty to be killed in the last 2
% years, The other victims included
former UNP parliementarian. for the
Rataspura District and young Subject
Minister Athuia Auygale (a Colombo
Campus alumni and Law grad); a UNP
niember of the Central Province
Provincial Couneil, D.M.Bandara of
Ustidumbara; a UNP candidate in the
Pliyandala Cooperative Socioty Election
and twe UNP supporters,
R.M.Ranatunga, 2 retired sub Fost
Master (Kiled on 17th January 1995)
and 24 year old Pedmasiri Shantha of
Yalenile, Paragammans, This is apert
from the 6 unarmed UN? supporteis anc
‘ne passat by viho wore shat to death
is foe dey light in Negombo last year,
According 10 aveilable evidence allthese
men were killed hacauise of their support
forthe UNP; again according to aveltable
evicence they were unarmed at the timo.
of the kings. Lake Nalanda elawala they
too deserve justice, But the PA, which
today 1s talking of introducing special
laws te punish the killers of Nalonde
Etanals, does not seem to ba in such a
burly to punish the kilers of these other
victims. tt doesn’t stop thera, The first
accused in the klling-of Athuia Attyaale
(Case No, 88174 - flatrapura Courts)
Janake Kaluarachchi, received PA
nominations for the upcoming local
aovatnment polls and is contesting the
Pisinapura Pradesteeya Sablia on the PA
ticket. (The PA therefore cannot accuse
she UNP of giving nominations t a
murier suspect sinee it too has done
the same it siioud also be menvoned
that the houses of the two oye
witnesses in this case, Gamini Kulerstne
and Kerunawethie were destroyed by
the Ratnapura riolats). The man - 2
leasing PA Provincial Councilor of the
\Westem Province - viho (according to
eye Witnesses) ofdered the killing, on
the spot, of a UNP candidate in the
Piliyendala Co-operative Society
slections hes been appointed to en
important postin tha Ports Authority
(that Was efter ¢ cettain female Deputy
Minister arranged for him to e>end some
time in the Merchants Ward in order to
sxado ericet)
According te the President, “This UNF
Cannot he refarmed..... (Ne) are
prepared to even bring special laws (0
punish those men who do not
Understand humanity .."(Kalutara Rally).
This Presidential pronouncement and tre
conduct of the PA regime in the
aftermath of the Ellawala kiling clearly
amenstate that the PA Is basing Itself
on the notion of collective gullt and
Cconsequerty collectivé punishment. Te
PA's eylloaistic logie seem to be
Susantha Punchinilame and Mehinda
Ratnatilleke killed Nelanda Ellewale;
Punchinilame and Ratnatilleke are
sveinbers of the UN®, therefore dhe UNP
a5 party is guilty of tha Glawala kiling
his ss despite the tact that there is no
‘vidonce whateoever to indicate that the
killing of Nalanda Ellawala was carried
out o” the orders of the UNP. At this
point it is important to remember that
though @ disgruntled group within the
SLFP vias found guilly of conspiring to
assassinate SWAD: Bandaranaike, the
courts refused to find sll membere of
this group guilty; only those whe
actually participated in the conepirady
to Kill the Prime Minister were found
guilty; Ms Wimale Wijewardena, though
member of this group, was found
Innocent because she did nat participate
in the actual conspiracy, This was
because the notions of callective guilt
‘and collective punishment do not have
any place in the legal system of ¢
demecratic country. (It should also be
mentioned that this principle of collective
guilt and punishment was used by
Snbela racist mobs to perpetrata and
justify the anti-Temil riots of July ‘8S
and the LITE to perpetrate and justify
Numerous attacks on Sintiala civilians,
the latest of which was the Dahiwale
train bomb).
In the aftermath of the tragic Ellawala
killing the PA regime seened more
interested in generating # mocd af anti
UNP hysteria by blaming the UNP as 2
party for thie incident, than in
‘apprehending the suspects. Since that
day the PA propaganda has Leen gear
towards depicting the UNP as a bunch
9/ cold blooded killers preying on
innocent PA members. Tha previous
(UNP} victims of polltically motivatea
violence have no place in the story as
the PA propagandists are reteling it. The
killing of Nalanda Ellawala is being
depicted as a first degree murder,
thereby usuiping a decision which can
only be taken by 2 court of law: The
objectiveis to create a picture of a young
man “as innocent as a baby squirrel”
{as PA Pailiarentarian Dilan Perera pot
it on ITN) murdered by an evil Goliath
(the UNF), In other wores depicting tne
Ellawala killing in oterk black and white
terms which that master propagancist
Adolf Hitler identified as the ‘.... very
first condition which has to be fulfilled
in every kind of propaganda ; a
systematically one sided attitude
towers every oroblem that lies 10 be
dealt vith .. when they see an
uncompromising onslaught egainst an
adversary, the peopla have at all imes
‘taken this a5 proof that right is on the
side of the active agaressor" (Mein
Kamat). Consciously or unconsciously
the PA propagandists seem to be
following these instructicns tothe letter.
‘The (post Nealands Killing) PA propaganda
bbased on the notion of collective quit
Punishment and replete with verbot
violence. claimed its first casualties in
theriots which ongulfed Retnapura - ene
person killed | a minor employer af ens
Of the establishments torched by the
‘mob was burnt to death) and damage
to property totaling milions of rupees.
For several days after the killing, the
state ovined TV kept up a barrage of
hate propagsnda, with the Mulberry
Group playing the role of the advanced
‘guard, accusing the government leaders
Of not taking harsh enough measures
ageinst the UNP. This propaganda, taken
‘together with the PA’s doskarod intention,
of changing the existing laws to deal
with the killers of Nalanda Ellavoi,
seem 1b indicate the commencement of
‘ano holds barred battle eqainst the UNP.
= which according to the rasults of the
1934 Parliamentary General Elections is
the single largest damorratic political
party in Sii Lanka, YWhat is ironic is that
the PA which has no problems with the
VP, a party whieh initiated two anti
systemic ineurgencies in’'71 and ‘87,
determined to perceive andlor depec: the
LUNPas the greatest threat to cemocracy
system and treat it accordingly, Whether
this strategy of destabilising and
pereecuting the democratic apposition
Is the result of genuine myopia or
whother it is the racult of the need to
‘gain short teim political and electoral
advantage, its ultinate outcome cen very
well be a civil war. AS Al ANAL
C.Mahendran was one of Lalith
Athulathmudali's teachers at Royal
College He holds a Masters Degree from
the School of Advanced International
Studies at Johns Hopkins University in
Washington, DC. Ho was Sri Lanka's
Ambassador in China, Japan and Korea.
Fluent in Sinhala, he also spooks and
te8ds Chinese (Mandarin). His son and
daughter graduated from Oxford and the
LSE and Harvard [ew School
respectively, In Opposition circles, he is
Teferred to as the UNP's answer to
Lekshman Kadirgamar and Neelan
Tiruchevam. So what's a nice guy lke
this doing in a Municipal election?
C.Mahendran fared questions from the
edlibila staffs of he Lanka Guardian ang
Vikalpa, its Sinhala counterpart
@. MrMahondran, you were a senior
diplomat, Why are you in politics? Why
now - and why tho UNP?
A. The reason why | decided to join the
party is the leadership. | saw in Rani
Wickremasinghe a man with a vision.
When I was the ambassador to China
Korea and Japan | had to work closely
with the then UNP government and | saw
ist there was a great deal of positive
Content in the programmas which wero
implemented by that government. Ranil
Wickremasinghe is the heir to that
Jegecy, The UNP had 2 very well thought
ut development atrotegy and they
implemented it. Which is why during
that period you found our entire county
changing: we literally jumped from the
feudal age to the modern age. Thet is
why | thought I should help tha party
and its present leedership to achieve
their objectives
Q. Why municipal polities? You are
probably the most high profile Tamil
eendidate on the UNP list to the
Colombo municipality. Why did you
agree to be nominated - and thrown into
the bear pit?
A. I'm entering this musicipal bale
purely becsuss | need to help the party
ft this juncture, It doesn’t matter where
cipalty or the
hhational government. What matiers Is
that we have to put our shouldare to
the wheel rgnt now. This has to be a
total effort
Q. Tho Presidont, in kicking off the PA
campaign n Anuradhepura, has said that
the Tarai! people suffered greatly under
the UNP She has mentioned July 83 as.
an example. She hes also said that her
government is prosecuting the war
against the LTTE properiy-unike the
UNP-whila putting on the table an
‘auronomy package for the Tamil people.
She is therefore moking a strong pitch
(0 persuades the Tarnil people 10 vote tor
the PA. As a Tamil, what ie your anewer
‘A. It is the UNP government that can
doliver the most for the Tamil people
‘more then anything the PA has done or
ean de, Let's just look at the record
The PA has promised any things for
the Tamil people. But what have they
actually dene? You ask the Tarnl people,
whether in Tineamalee, Wellawatte ot
Jinthupitiya, What ie their enewer? They
ate herassed and their sons anc
daughtors are taken in; nothing is boing
done avout their complaints. Take
Joseph Perarajasingham’s complaints
about cisappearances; the President has
not even bothered to answer, They ere
having commissions on the
disappearances in 88/39. What about
appointing 2 Commission on
disappearances in 96, 96 and 97? The
President is being 8 sophist; she is
merely playing with words. | have
decided to join the UNP and to contest
fiom the UNP because the record tram
1948 upto now clearly demonstiates
tat the UNP has done mast for the Tart
paople For examals the first cabinst of
McD.S.Senanayeke contained three ot
four Tamile from the Jaffna area. Thera
were a number o} Tamils in Dudley's
cabinet as woll. Let'e take tho public
service; whenever the UN? qavemment
was in office, Tamils - if they were
qualified and efficient enough - got ther
rightful place. The administration of
President Premadasa was absolutely and
demorstrably an excellent example of
this, That is why | say that the UNP has
no bias on that score,
As for July 1983. During that sime | was
residing in Pamankada which wae a
gfeally affected area. Let me be very
very clear: it wasn't the Sinhala people
as much who did that but a few
‘oxtremist olamants belonging to both the
then covernment and the opposition,
July ‘88 waa the most unfortunete
incident thet ever took place. But are
‘ye going to dwell on ths forever? Isn't
this time for reconciliation? | believe that
the time for reconciliation Is here end
Q. The so called Colombo Tarn sera!
ineelligentsia feel that Prasivent
Chandrika's hand should be
strengthened now, because of the
‘packago’. This 2 what
Mr-Ganeshalingam also says. Why don't
you agree?
A. | would answer by asking a question:
for whom is this package? The
government says this isthe panacea for
all ills. Is it really so? Let's say, for
argument sake that this package Is approved by the Parliament and the
country. How can it be implemented in
the Northeast? isn’t thera ancther force
‘there on the ground, fighting us? Ido
ot beliave in the official prose: my
information comes directly trom Jartne,
Aesording to that wo cre in actual
coffective control of pretty little. We are
there in a few camps. Though itis being
sal! that we are in control of two thirds
cf the area, the first hand information |
‘get tals me that this is not really so.
And the new operaticn thet has been
launched « isn’t that = purely and
ratrowly poltticel campaign? | do not
think that ony man women or chid in
his or her right mind would belleve what
the government say.
Q. Vihat is your vision for Colombo - in
4 practical sense?
‘A. My first priority both es a Tamil and
citizen a cleaner city with an orderly
system af government where you can
get your day to day chores done in an
efiicient manner. We also nead to have
2 dislogue with the central government
to alleviate tho problom of travel
congestion. A cleaner ety also means
taking care of tho environment. There
is also the question of housing. Though
this is @ centeal Government subject we
ean do something in this area as well,
afte: all the housing effort was started
by MiPromadasa Look at the canal
bank; what a difference from what It
, Your party ie saying that it does not
make promises and instead, the
‘emphasis is on policies. This dichotomy
faetyween palicies and promises is surely
an artificial one. Alter all it is the
promises made during an election petiod
which become policies later. Teke the
example of Janasaviya; Ir was
lacPremadasa’s main election promise
ard after ho was elected it bocame ono
of the mast mportant practical policies
and programmes of his government.
Also, i you do not make promises, what
nope cen you offer the electorate; what
cen they expect from you? Why should
they vote for you?
‘A. {agree with you. What our party
means is that it will not msko falee
promises : it will only make aromises it
atv implement. It wil not behave like
the PA which promised everything and
delivered nothing. We wil not lie to the
nenple but we wil take our promises
very setiousty,
Q. You 109 a1 making many promises,
How are you going to implement thom?
‘A, In, sorting out any problom tho fret
prerequisite is commitment. Without
commitment you are nothing. | spent 8
long years in China; | saw the
commitment of the Communist Porty
ff China and the inflience it hed on the
peaples of Chine. The Chinese have a
saying, which, translated into Enolish,
reads as Own sitengt, Hard struggle".
Thora is no other way Hew long can
We expect aid from foregn countries?
Look at China} today they can respect
themselves) they can do whatever they
want and disregard the world. That is
the greatest contribution the Communist
Party of China made. This oxamplo and
experience is ene of my sources of
inspiretion and confidence.
Q. Whet would you want Colombo 10
ook ike?
A. | would like Colombo to look a bit
like Washington. With lot of tees, and
Jot of open park areas which cen
function as the lunds of the’city. And
yeu can co these things without hurting
people. Gnce again, take the example
of MrPremadase, That is what we have
+o follaw. We have to replace tenements
vit) high ses, The rest of the space
an ba used a8 a garden, a park. This
way we Can green Cur city. This is what
Mi.Premadasa did in Maligawette. That
area was a swamp, Today it has high
fise buildings and tres lined reads, tt ie
like bringing a flower cut of = swamo.
This way we can protect our
environment by greesing our cites.
0. Polticafpanias talk. loudly abour their
lofty fovals pantculaly during election
times. Bvt how de you aut these Into
practise? Lots take an example How do
you selva the problem of garbage
disposal?
‘A. We need urgently to look into fang
fils: where should the lend fils be? Then
you have to think about installing
incinerators ; this fs something a modecn
city cannot de without. The letest
method is ta divide the garbage as
biodegradable end non biodegradable.
Biodeatadable garbage can be tured
inte fertiliser. None of these things sre
being done now. Land fils are regarded
as the obly sdlution to the problern of
garbage disposal, We have to change
this
@. To requ 10 the eihno-national
‘question. I, as you say, it was the UNP
which has dane most for the Temil
people, then how come we are in thic
situation today?
A. This is what the government is also
seying, The President however has
forgotten what was done by the
governments headed by her fether and
her mother Take 1958 for examale and
its repercussions: Then take the army
how many Tamils are there in the army?
Who és responsible for this? It is the
SLEP. In 1848 our fret Sii Lankan army
commander Gen. Anton Muthukumaru
wae a Tamil, Lcok at the way we the
UNE, are responding to the PA’s package
and the way they responded to the
UNP's '81 DDCs. the ‘B4 All Parties
Conference and Annexure ©, the '86
Political Parties Conference, the ’87
Accord end the ‘88 13th Amendment
‘and Provincial Councils! The SLEP was
responsible for the postaccord nots. Wie
will never behave like that. However in
this elections the most important issue
ig not the so-called package Sut the
livelihood of the people, And the Tami
people are suffering more under the PA
than they did under the UNP. We must
also ‘emumber that under the UNP we
were abla to consolidate aur authority
Inthe Eastern Province The PA les today
lost effective cantral in the Festern
Province. k.Ganeshalingam Is today
talking about the package. But this is
not relevant in the CMC elections. We
must remember that of the Tamil
ponuiation in Colombe 50% are irom
Jafine and 50% ar irom Colombe and
the upcountry. For the Jaifna Tamils
security ard transport are the important
issues. For the other 50% whet is
important i the struggle to achieve and
maintain a decent livng standard which
means water, electricity, sanitation and
heelth, Those problame they have in
common with the Sinhala end the
Muslim people. We must remember that
we are gong to be elected 10 salve the
problems of all these people; to help all
these people to live © PROSPECTSEOR
CONFLICT RESOLULION I SOUTHLAST
Dr. Maqsudul Hasan Nuri
(The author, who 7 Senior Research Scholar at the Insitute of Regional
‘Studies, Islamabad. is Visiting Professor. Dept of Defence and Strategic
Studies, Quaid-E-Azam University. He has aiso been a Visiting Fellow at
the Henry L. Stimson Contro, Washington DC).
Toa great extent, this also holds true
‘n the case of Incla and Pakisten, The
poisonous atmosphere of mutual
bitterness and fear can only be
dispelled by sorious, quist diplomacy.
‘Once the government representatives
have undertaken confidential
negatistions away from speculative
and prying press and media, thers cen,
be greater chances of success, OF
sours; the govemments will have to
cultivate public opinion by encouraging
open debate for some time. Basidies
those talks will have to be cairied aut
under the close guardianship of thelr
respective governments with genuine
national interests close to hoa.
LESSON
JURABLLITY AND
RESILIENGE
‘Another lesson learnt from the East:
West experience is that despite many
ups and downs in the former
Superpower rslations, the negotiation
process was not broken off. When
certain non-conducive political
developments took place, for instance,
the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
(1979), the former USSR inspires
Crackdown on the solidarity mevemnent
in Poland (1982) and the NATO
decision to deploy intermadiate range
missiles in Europe (1984), détente cid
suffer but the CBM talks invelving
government end fon-government
groups kept the negotiations process
going.
Aithough citcumstances and contexts
differ itis nevertheless useful to gain
from the experience of the precutsor
confidence generation measures
employed and come attompis at
conflict resolution in the Middle Fast,
Latin Amerios (Argentina Brazil), the
Pacific, Korean Peninsula, Central
‘America, including South Asia
‘The Middle East peace process has no
doubt got staliod with the Israeli Likud
party leadership following a rather
stubborn stand but the stakes in
normalisation and search for peace are
very much there after signing the frst
Oslo Agicement (September 1993)
and the second Osio Agreement
[October 1998) and with separate
‘eaties signed with Eaypt. Jordan andl
Pelestinions. The fact that Lebaron and
Syria have still rot signed treaties with
Israel dogs hot signify that the pecoe
Process will easily wither away, All
fartios in the Middle East have e steke
inthe future of the neace pracess and
will continue to giope for peace it
agotiations keep the parties engaged.
(11) if there Is any redeeming feature,
it is tha kincling of interest of some
‘Western Europ2en powers \Britain and
France) in the Middle East stalemate
and contacts between the Israel Labour
party and te PLO together with new.
Pontacts between the Palestinian
Leedership and the israel President
Wieizman. (12) Moreover, with © re
elected US President, thera is also
some hope of progress in the Middle
East. Although the peace process has
faced mary “traumas” in the pest year,
acco‘ding to the outgoing US secretary
‘of State Warren Christopher, “it has
domonstrated groat resilience... Arabs
and Istaelis alike know what war
means" (13)
LESSON 5: DURABILITY AND
RESTLIENC
One of the lessons derived from the
Midclle East peace pracass is the role
Played by the Oslo mesting in early
1993 botwoon the Isreeli ang
Palestinian negotiators. These
egotiators were in touch with thelr
respective governments who preferred
the parleys to take place In the back-
channel ingtead of the full glare of
publicity. The fear of ‘allure was always
there as both governments had strang
and vocal arti-peace lobbies which
were all cut to sabotage any peace
process - thus causing embarrassment
for their leaders,
Somehow, the Oslo talks are
erroneously equated with the Camp
David Accords (1978) and thus easily
misunderstood, For one thing, thore
wes no US role in the Oslo process as
inthe Camp David Accords, Secondly,
the Oslo process came into effect once
the Madrid peace procoss failed to
produce results. Thirdly, unlike the
Camp David telks, the Oslo
Regotiations did not directly involve
officials from the PLO and Israel, The
Camp David process was initiated by
the then US presidert Jimmy Carter:
Oslo by the Norwegian deputy foreign
minister Jan Eg| and, who in his
doctoral dissertation tied “to
operationalise Norway's potential role
‘a9 an intermediaiy in bilateral disputes
‘The delegates from lerasland Palestine
‘were mostly acadernics who discussed
the then political si:uation thraadbare
in a free and collegial environment
And, finelly in the Oslo telks, then
Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin
wes not supportive of his foreign
minister Shimon Pares but had to
canicede to hin later.
CONC!
SIONS AND FINAL
REMARKS,
The'genetic leséons drewn above will
have to be tailored ta the specific
context of South Asia, The hard reality
is that India and Pakistan have not yot
gone beyond certain contict avoidance
‘and somo confidence building
‘measures. Presently, a state of “uneasy
peace” of “armed peace" exists in
‘South Asia and the fresh winds of the
post-Cold war world have nat effected
i ———————————————— ntinent. Nuclear weapons
along with the military build-up
continues and the major unresolved
problams such as Kashmir cast dark
stladows over their mutual relations
Ip fact, conflict resolution hee got short
shrift from both parties to the contlict
in South Agia
It is © serious reflection on the
collactve wisdom of South Asians -
hits to past great civilsations - that
they should continue to bickor and
fritter away their energies and
resourses on war-mongering and
senselessly arming themselves. Their
seople, nearly one fifth of humankind
ive in grinding pevarty,
and cisabling diseases. indeed, South
Asia is like a big "poverty bowl”
whereas other recions of the word
have raced past into different stages
rat iliteracy
‘of progress end prosperity. No wonder,
many cutsiders sometimes view with
appointment and disdain, the
painful squabbling” of the two
principal nations of the Subcontinent
Logically peace should descend in
South Asie es both India and Pakistan
ar= now dermozracies and democracies
er S28 are capable of handling their
problems without recourse to war and
by entoring into 2 spirit of dialogue and
negotiations. Untortunately, both
domosracios have difficultios: Pakisten
being a fragile and insecure democracy
while India suffering from overarching
ambitions of becoming a alcbal power
apd its inability to live in harmony with
ite smallor neighbours, India he to
inculcate some modesty and empathy
{or the sacurity concerns of its smaller
Reichbours. Moreover, 2s 2 bigger
country, the onus fles with India to take
initiatives towards eonflict resolution.
At the same time, Pakistan must learn
to reconcile itself to India's size,
fesources and population in South Asia
just as some Nordic countries such
ss Denmark, Holland and Belgium have
Iearnt to reconcile with Germany's
strength without campromising thoir
nationel pride, independence and
soversignty.
Very recently, a historis treaty, albeit
not vary well known, was signed
between Hungary and Rumarie, thus
ending thousand years af historicel
paranoia and morbid enmity between
them, While its too early to predict
the end of historical hurceand hatroda,
this treaty is very significent for central
Europe se Franco-German
Feconciliation was for West Germany,
(14) Perhaps it could also act as @ ved
setter for South Asia, India-Pakistan
jantagenism is no: destied for eternity
History is witnass thet past rancsure
and enmities have melted away wrth
enemies of the past turning into the
best of friends. Times and
circumstances create new perceptions
for nations just like individuals, New
situations cieate "e space in which
hope can grow", says the Irish poot,
‘Svemus Heany (16). Iris hardly known,
‘says an acute observer of South Asia,
that nearly 40 different attempts have
boen mace to stimulate non-official
dialogues between India and Pakistan
in the recent years. According to him,
while many of these initiatives have
bbecoma dormant, some continu in the
form of reguler exchange of idecs.
Maybe, this could initiate and finally
catalyse the process of conflict
resolution in South Asie
Historical disputas ars sometimes hopt
alive by invoking selective pericds of
history. And history is itself an
argument without end. As Sen, Gaorge
Mitchell once said: “If the focus
remains on the past, the pest will
become the future and that is
something that no one can desire’
In the ultimate analyeie, the road to
‘eal and durable oeace in South Asia
ies through the cepitals of India and
Pakistan rather than anywhare else
Major powers could at best render help
as mediaters/facilitstare, but tho
heavy lifting” for peace will tally.
have to ba done by India and Pakistan,
For, itis the well-being and prosperity
of their teeming millions that is et stake
and hence there is na choiea but to
*gamble" for peace,
Endnotes
11 Richard N.Haass, “The Middle East
No More Treaties", Foreign Affairs,
Vol78, No.5 (September-Octoder
1998), pp. 53-63,
12 Ahmed Rashid and Romesh Thaldir
fecommané Oslo-type talks
betvieen the two countries: firstly
eople-to-peoples, than official to
official and finally between heads
of state Consult “put india and
Fakistan on the Oslo track to
Peace", Internatioral Hovald Tribune,
11 August 1986, p
13 Moanis Ahmer, “Peace Process and
Secret Diplomecy”, The News,
Islamabad, 29 August 7296, p.7.
14Donaid M.Biinken @ Alfred
H.tMoses, “A Farewell to Tragic
Past’, Dawn, Kardchi, 19 October
1986, p.13.
15As quoted in Gerry Adams
{President of Sinn Fein, the polticel
wing of the IRA}, “Dialogue ie the
‘only way forward”, Dawn, Kerachi,
20 Fetrusry 1996, p17
A Lost Pan
Ce eter
Pome tite Wersae tei ea
the boat carrying them to Tamil
Nadu capsized off the Sri
Pernt etre
So far (Febuary 25th) there!
eee
ioeeee st
Chinn
Political leader
Pe eae
Cee curr tania
eee eee
Coen k acon
Goria brsec tsi ese etait
coe ose orl
Sauer eres
ere eer
Coote Na wie eet
Roe eter eed
who probably induced the)
Goce cr ee oe aera
foecommurer
Sie cre ete
Peo he cereal
fers ecmen
insensitive Sei Lankan state and|
Cer eter ee
| implacable, cruelly utilitarian
eyo ee JRAND THE TAMILS
D. L. O. Mendis
‘Atihe imehecameto powerthe
passionate emetionalism of ethnic
cconfict had periodically broken through
the paiamentary game. Andlitle hed
been done to turn the subjective
attention of the populace from self-
regarding ethnic dvalry. But R was his
aged io have been in powerat = tme
when these hostilities reached tneir
peak. JP suffered from the double
misfortune of following seven years of
rapidly detecorating communal
relations that flowed from the UF
Governments misguided policies and
Favingto deal ith Mrs Ganchiwho was
in porter in Ineia from 1980 onwards.
To ba sure any indian Prime Minister
would ave hadto respondin some way
to the exeitoment in South India that
resulted frorn violent etinic contct in
S71 Lanka but only someone like her
would fave given RAWY, Incia's version
cf tha CIA, the free rein it used fo give
direct assistance to the Tamil separatist
‘mevament in'Sri Lanka’
It]e roally inrodiblo to road that
§twashistracedy to have been power
ata lime when theco hostlitis roaches
their peak’. The truth is that after the
five-slath'e majortyin pariamort, given
by a trusting electorate, was used 10
change tho 1972 Ropublican
Constiutionang vest vinvally total power
inthe new executive Prosidont achoad
of stete, he alone must be held
feponsible for all thal happened
thereafter We may say therfore tnat, it
tes Sri Lanka's tragedy, notJR's, that
he was ‘in power af the time tne
hostihies reachod their peak’. (n other
\words no hisiorian can absolve him of
major if not sole reponsibility for the
escalation of hostilties and violence
after Fe-came to power.
However, Professor KM de Silva
doos not stop al that unfortunate,
misleading and unfair comment. - He
,goos onto blame Mrs Bandaransike for
JP's “politcal interttance" vis-a vis tre
Tamil sthnis problom.
if his predecessor as head of
goverment - Mrs Bandaranaike - had
niet been so shortsighied as to sow the
whitkwind in the unthinking way she did
DLO Mendis
Inthe 19708, the outcome may wel have
boon different. Thon, JA's peliical
inhentance, so far as the Tamil minority
wae concemed, would not have been
the poisoned chalicelt tured outto be.
‘Ths siatemant dafies objective
analysis. Is Mrs Bandaranaike now
being held responsible for the total
mess in Sinhela-Taril relations that
exisis today? She had. according to
Professor KM de silva, “sowed the
whirwind and left pcor JR a terrible
‘poltical inheritance’. Iso it rather that
virtually total power was misused, and
immense goodwill of the people
squandered? Statements like these
suggesta fils atienptto rewrite history,
to do what god himself cannot do, to
change the past.
Professor KM de Silva
also evokes memeries of tho 1956
elections
‘He remombered what had
heppened to tlm In. 1986 wien the
Sinhalose maseas had turned against
his pany ;anche could vividly recall what
‘an unpleasant place Mrs Bandaranaike
had made the politcal wilderness for
him and his party’
Mis Bandaranaike we not in
polities when JA was in “the poitical
wilderness” after the 1966 general
elections. SWHD Bandaranaixe, who
had won that election with the support
‘of the “Sinhalese masses", and
inoduced the “Sinhala only bill, had
made sincere atiempts to appease the
Tarrils thereafter, Firstly, he qualified
‘Sinhala only" with “Tami also" which
was then described es "bad logic but
cou sense", Next, hetried ionegotiate
ihe Bandaranaike - Chelvanayakem
pact, butihis was ab‘ogatad on acoourt
‘of erganized opposition led by none
other than JR himself, who vas in tact
inthe ‘pollical wilderress*al that time,
having been defeated in his own
electorate, Kelaniya, by RG Senanayeke
who contested and wen two seals at
he 1956 elections, the other being
Dambaderiya. Professor KM de Silva
makes no felerence at all to JR's
disruption of the B-C pact, but tries
Instead to show thet Banéarsnake
policios had entagorized the Tamils,
and tnet JB fad to make amencs.
"When he took office in July)
1977, hepromotly set about overtuming,
the principal legal grievances and
discriminatory regulations inhorited
from the Bandaranaike poricd. Some
ofthese were removed through
adminisirative decisions almost as
‘soenas hecame to power -suchas the
UF government's controversial poicies
in university education - while other
changos - especially on language
polcy-- were effected through the new
‘eonsitution introduced in 1978."
Some ten fears the
assassination of | SWRD
Bancaranaike, the proposed Dudley
‘Senenayake - Chelvanayakam oct
Was algo abandonod on account of
similar protests by Sinhala groups,
‘who of coursehad the procadent ofthe
successtul protesis, led by JA, against
the earlior Bandaranaiko
Chalvenayakem, pact, oemulate. But,
ater hie histori electoral victory at ho
free and fair general elsctions
organized by Mre_ Sirimavo
Bandaranaike's government In July
4977, at least one political
commertator, AG de Soyza, described
with passionate eloquence, JR's
actions in discupling the B'C pact, as
fan action that saved the nation from
being divided. This is not mentioned
bby Professor KIM de Silva, but his
passing comments on the two pacts
thet were both abrogated before they
could ba intioduced in Parlament,
eke iniercoting reading:
‘Inthe early 12603 a sclvenve of
devolution of power to district level
councils (26 in all) was introduced as
part ofapoltical settisment with the Sa
Lankan Tarui's, a major poltical
achievement consitering the failure of
nerve on the part of Banderenaie end
Dudiey Senanayake in the lata 1960s,
when they had conlronted the samme
problem."
So, wehave to acceplthat ii was
a question ofnnerve that decided these
issues and JR's role in causing the B-
C pac! to be scuttled in 1958, with al
the grevous consequences resutting,
is nat mentioned, Instaad credit goes
10 JR who used his craconian majority
in parliament to introduce ‘a scheme
of devolulicn of power to disvict level
councils
"Yet thaco councils falledte give
the restive Jaffna peninsula @ durabie peace. As a result the violence of July
1983 the political support, iram the
Tamils, for these councils evaporated
repidly and they were abandoned in oss
than two years of tei estabtshiment.'
The ‘Violence of July 1983", is
mentioned thus, almost in passing.
However, this was an even more
sigrificart landmark in the breakdown
of relations between the Sinhalese and
Tamil peoples, during JR's regime, than
the dissuption of Jatina Davelopment
Councilelections in 1881. Several facts
‘onceming this violence have therefore
tobe mentioned here. For example, the
Dossiblty of an outhreak of violence on
‘July 21, had been anticipated by police
intelligence in Colombo, but the
message was net well received by
higher authority. A request to cancel the
burials schoduied to take place at the
General cemetery, Kanatte, on July 21
morning, when the arrival ofthe remains
Irom Jatina was being delayed, and to
disperse the funerals to the respective
villages of the thirteen dead sclders,
‘was negatived, presumably by JF as
Supreme Commander of Sri Lanka
forces. When the expected civil
commotion and rioting started in
Colombo alter the funerals that right,
and spreadto the oulstations, there was
no doclaration of a state of Emergency
bygovernment forfour long days. During
this time thousands of innocent Tarrils
‘were massacred by organized mobs
‘armed with weapons, and voters lisis,
through which they were able to identify
the residences of Tamil people in
Colombo.
Aftarfour agonizing days; tho frst
to appear on television was a former
civil servant who had been convicted in
the 1982 attempted coup 0 etat against
Mrs Bandaranalke's government, and
‘acquitted only In appoal to the Privy
Council. Himself a Sinhaleso, he
eppealed tothe Sinnaless pecpeto-be
alm", thereby implying that the
‘Sinhalese people” were responsible for
the outrages, and not thuge and
vimbals. The President appeared on
‘TWVonly onthe fourthday, with statament
thet he would not allow the country to be
civided, and announced a sth
amendment 10 his 1978 consiituton,
whereby all members of pariamont and
public servants had to swear an oath ot
loyaltytotho Stato, He didnotuiterone
word! apology orrearet to the aggrieved
Tamil peoples,
One other event may be
mentioned - the slaughter of Tamil
politcal prisoners in Welkada jall on
Iwo separate cccesions, Government
simply cisclimed responsibilty, eaying
that i was the resut of a prison rot
(Interestingly, when thoro was a jel
break by Tami poltical prieoners from
Batticaloa jail sometimo later, the
Minisier in charge resigned ane
proceeded ta take up an UN
appoiniment in Paris which hac
cbviousyy bsan negetiated ovor 3 long
period cf time, eater, Tha jal - break
cama attheright momont fo bo usod at
an eppetert cause for resignation on
prindrle. Itdecsivednobody, became
Was well-known that tne Minister
suifered trom an almost incurable
disease for which ho was desperately
‘nciove to se0k traatment abroad - at
state expense, The whole sordid
ep sod didnot caus special comment
because there ware far more creadtul
things happening on a day to day bacio
under JP'S self - styles cnarmsta
reaitno)
In the immediate aftermath of
July 1983 massacres, government
issued a stalemont to its embassies
‘abroad that the riots were due to a
“spontaneous outburst by Sinhalese
enraged by tha kiling of thiteen scldiors
in. an ambush in vaifna’, this was in
keeping with eartier statomonts made
by responsible cabinet Ministers as
reportedin the press that "ithe violonce
in the north did net stop, rere would be
a backlash against Tamils in Sinhalese
areas". This downright blasphemy of "a
spontaneous uprising ty the Sinhalese
people was actually stated in a Human,
Rights meeting in Geneva in August
1969, Thougit it was replaced almost
immediately by emother version, virtually
inteperable damage had been done 19
Sri Lanka's human rights image in the
UN, by this statement,
‘The new version of the cause of
the violence wes equally bizarre, The
President announced tha! three marxist
political parties were known to be
responsible, and they were bannad and
diivan underground. O! these, the UVP.
had been banned after their atempted
insurrection in 1971 against Mrs
Bandaranaike's government, and their
[eaders thrown injal, JP had released
these persors from jal in 1977, and had
‘asked them to party leader had even,
contested the 1982 Presidential
elections. He had poled unexpectedly
high votes.and had filed an election
petition against JR afterwards, alleging
malpractices.
As fo justily the Referendum of
1962, JF had stated that it general
elections had been held, a "Nexalte
teksover’ would have resulted. Ina
similarmanner the JVP was nowbaing
blamed forthe viclence against the
Tamils, something which only the
dichard loyalists of the UNP could
belive. The JVP on the other hand
believed that their leaders's election
petition against JR after the 1982
Presidential election was responsible
for their present situation. To those
wwito knew modern history, however, it
was simply 2 case of history repeating
Itself the preosdent being the Krystal
‘aght violence against the Jews in
Hitler's Germany, exactly fity years
earlier in 1933, which had been
blamed on the communists,
The Indian Investiaative
joumalist Dr Claude Alvarae, visited Sri
Lanka ‘0 research the background 10
the July 1989 incidents, immediatoly
alter the tragic events, and met and
interviewod many a VIP.Inathreopage
nice in te liustreted Weekly of Indien
in August 1983, he quoted throo
theories he had heard about the causa
Of the violence. JR had ssid that tho
“rads' were response, while Cabinet
Ministers Cyril Mathew and
Anandatissa do Alwss had blamed the
"Indians* and an "Uneoon Hand”
respectively. Now, Professor
