It appears that the Sri Lanka government has
embraced the tactics of Jeff and Mutt in its continuing
efforts to avoid direct talks with the Liberation
Tigers. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe plays the
soft spoken reasoning Jeff role.
The state controlled Sri Lanka Sunday Observer
reported on January 16 in its front page, that Prime
Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe had extended an open
invitation to the LTTE and its leader, Velupillai
Pirabaharan to make representations to the Select
Committee on Constitutional Reforms.
''The Select Committee will obtain public
representation at the widest possible level and the
LTTE can make their own representations to it'' he
said.
At the same time, Sri Lanka President D.B.Wijetunga
cast in the role of the tough talking Mutt continued to
reiterate that there is
no ethnic problem but only a 'terrorist'
problem.
Reinforcing the tough Mutt approach, the Sri Lankan
airforce systematically bombed hospitals, churches, temples and
other civilian
targets in the Tamil homeland.
Three religious leaders in the North, Bishop
D.J.Ambalavanar, Bishop Thomas Saundranayagam and
Nallai Thiru Sampandar Atheenam protested on 17
November 1993:
''A close statistical study of the air
raids carried out by the Sri Lankan airforce in the
North will show that the victims of the raids have
almost always been innocent helpless civilians. When
this is the case how could any one avoid concluding
that this is organised State terrorism.?''
Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Saundranayagam told Sri
Lanka President Wijetunga:
''Please instruct your forces to abide by
international law and respect civilian population
centres and sacred places of worship.''
Sri Lanka's new Army Commander, Lt.General Gerry de
Silva weighed in with his own aggressive contribution.
He declared in the Sinhala owned Sri Lanka Sunday Times
on 16 January:
''We have made our plans and discussed them with
the Ministry of Defence... The thrust of our
approach, I can say, is two fold. The short term
strategy is immediate offensive action... Certain
(long term) strategies are (also) being worked out.
Ofcourse this needs a lot of material, arms,
ammunition, vehicles.''
It will not be surprising therefore if Prime
Minister Wickremasinghe's 'invitation' to the LTTE to
join the general public in making representations to
the Parliamentary Select Committee for Constitutional
Reform will be seen by many as a disingenuous
propaganda ploy.
It appears that whilst the Sri Lanka government
prepares for a military onslaught on Tamil Eelam, it is
also anxious to show the international community on
which it is dependent for 'materials, arms, ammunition
and vehicles'', that the Government is not
intransigent.
The pressing bottom line is that the Sri Lanka
Government needs to replenish the Rs.750 million losses
incurred in the recent Janakapura, Killali, Devro and
Pooneryn debacles. But some Western Aid Donors may have
begun to question the wisdom of pumping in more arms to
secure stability in the island. Again, the Sri Lanka
Army's recent track record may not have engendered much
confidence in its ability to secure the so called
'military solution'.
At the same time, it appears that President
D.B.Wijetunga's tough Mutt act, is intended to secure
victory for the UNP at the forthcoming polls by out
doing the other Sinhala political parties in the
Sinhala Buddhist chauvinism stakes.
The point made by the late Sathasivam Krishnakumar,
the charismatic head of the International Secretariat
of the LTTE in July 1991 bears repetition yet
again:
''Whilst Sri Lanka talks peace it continues with
its military efforts. If we look at the past we can
see why. Sinhala
Buddhist chauvinism has been institutionalised in
Sri Lanka and today it has become more powerful than
the politicians themselves. Indeed even if some
Sinhala politicians seek to settle the conflict,
Sinhala Buddhist chauvinism will seek to prevent such
a settlement... This Sinhala chauvinism which was
nurtured by Sinhala politicians for their electoral
advantage, has grown into a Frankenstein monster
which now has the power to destroy and make Sinhala
politicians. This we understand very well.''
For three long years, the Sri Lanka government put
forward the
Parliamentary Select Committee on Ethnic Affairs as
the forum for the resolution of the conflict. Before
that it was the
All Party Conference. Now it is the Parliamentary
Select Committee on Constitutional Reforms.
The true intent of Prime Minister Wickremasinghe's
'invitation' was revealed by the place where he made it
- to a Sinhala audience at a public meeting in Marambe,
Akuressa in the deep Sinhala South. And presumably
Prime Minister Wickremasinghe wanted to be taken
seriously.
He said it was a canard spread by the LTTE that the
''government is not interested in a political solution
after Mr.D.B.Wijetunga took over as President.'' Prime
Minister Wickremasinghe even tried to pass off the
'invitation' to the LTTE to join the general public to
make representation to the Select Committee as
'discussions' with the Government. He said:
''Several opportunities were given for the LTTE to
come for discussions with the Government. But the
LTTE has failed to come forward.''
The Sri Lanka Sunday Observer went one better and
headlined the news story: ''Ranil invites Prabha for
talks''!
Though the political compulsions which led the Sri
Lanka Sunday Observer to mislead its readers may not be
without significance the fact remains that Prime
Minister Wickremasinghe was being economical with truth
when he declared that 'several opportunities were given
for the LTTE to come for discussions with the
Government.'
The truth is that the Sri Lanka government has, at
every turn, refused to sit and talk with the LTTE on
equal terms. The truth is that the Sri Lanka government
has used and continues to use the Parliamentary Select
Committee mechanism as a way of avoiding direct talks
with the LTTE.
The trouble, however, with the tactics of Jeff and
Mutt is that, though directed to serve the same end,
they are mutually contradictory.
If there is no ethnic problem, what is the so
called Select Committee on Constitutional Reforms
about and why invite the LTTE to make representations
to it? On the other hand, if the Government cannot or
will not enter into direct talks with the LTTE
because it categorises the lawful armed resistance of
the Tamil people led by the LTTE as 'terrorism', why
does it invites the very same LTTE to make
representations to the Select Committee? Is it that,
that which is so called 'terrorism' to Sri Lanka's
President, is not 'terrorism' to Sri Lanka's Prime
Minister?
The Sri Lanka government is naive if it believes
that the 'tactics' of Jeff and Mutt will not be seen
for what they are: tactics meant to avoid direct talks
with the LTTE and at the same time, further Sri Lanka's
continuing genocidal onslaught on the Tamil people.
The words of Velupillai Pirabaharan on
Maha Veerar
Naal on 27 November 1993 will focus Tamil minds and
hearts on the task ahead:
''I do not believe that there will be a radical
change in the hardened attitude of Sinhala
chauvinism. Without such a radical change there is no
hope for a peaceful resolution of the problem.
Because of the rigid and hardline attitude of Sinhala
chauvinism, the creation of an independent state is
the only path open to the Tamil people. We have no
alternative other than to proceed along that
path.''
