Looking
For A Compromise
In Sri Lanka
By K. Ratnayake
World
Socialist Web
25 November 2003
As
the political crisis in Sri Lanka drags into its fourth week, heavy
pressure is being brought to bear by the United States, the European
Union (EU), India and Japan on President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime
Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to patch-up some sort of compromise.
On November 4, Kumaratunga
triggered the conflict when she seized key defence, internal affairs
and media ministries from Wickremesinghes United National Front
(UNF) government and suspended parliament for two weeks. Her aim was
to scuttle peace talks between the UNF and the Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to end the countrys civil war, in the midst
of growing hostility on the part of Sinhala extremists towards the negotiations.
Since then, the
Norwegian government has suspended its involvement in the peace
process. On November 14, foreign minister, Vidar Helgessen, formally
announced in Colombo Oslos temporary withdrawal until the political
situation was clear.
Early last week,
Norwegian special envoy, Eric Solheim, met with Indian External Affairs
Minister, Yaswant Sinha and government officials to seek their support
to revive the talks.
Indicating the nature
of his discussions with the Indian government, Solheim declared at a
luncheon with Indian politicians, including defence minister George
Fernandes, that the peace process would never succeed without
Indias support. India was a key factor in the
process, he added.
Warnings have been
made that the multi-billion aid package for Sri Lanka pledged in Tokyo
to rebuild the war-torn country could be jeopardised if negotiations
are not swiftly resumed. IMF representative, Jeremy Carter, met Kumaratunga
two weeks ago to warn that any further delay in the countrys budget,
which was due to be brought down on November 12, but was put back a
week, could have severe consequences.
Arjuna Mahendran,
chairman of the Board of Investment overseeing Sri Lankas free
trade zones was told by Molly Williamson, Deputy Secretary of the US
Commerce Department, that the American business community
was very keen to see the business and political climate in Sri
Lanka return to normalcy soon. According to the Daily Mirror,
Williamson added that, prospects for American participation in
investing in this country are very exciting. Bush administration
officials also repeatedly advised the president and the UNF to work
together.
Adding to the pressure,
Sri Lankas Joint Business Forum (Jbiz), comprising the countrys
leading business organisations, issued a detailed document last Tuesday
calling for the president to hand back the three ministries to the government.
The prime minister should be completely in charge of the peace
process, the document insisted.
Big business is
eager to seize on the opportunity opened up by the intervention of the
US into the South Asian region. Pursuing substantial economic, political
and strategic interests, the Bush administration has been courting the
Bharathiya Janatha Party (BJP) government in India and wants an end
to Sri Lankas 20-year civil war, which is now regarded as a destabilising
factor in the region.
In the face of these
demands, the president and the prime minister met last Tuesday for the
second time to discuss a settlement. Wickremesinghe proposed a compromise
co-habitation formula, based on a so-called French model,
whereby the defence ministry would be returned to the government while
Kumaragunta would chair a defence council as commander in
chief of the armed forces.
Despite failing
to give a formal response, Kumaratunga joined with the prime minister
in appointing a committee of officials to work out the details
of future working arrangements. This would enable the two to work
together on these important national issues. They agreed to meet
again in two weeks.
On Wednesday parliament
was re-opened. In response to a request for a ruling from 130 UNF and
other MPs, the speaker, Joseph Michael Perera, declared that the presidents
action in proroguing parliament was a breach of its collective
privilege. The government then proceeded to present the budget,
with no challenge from Kumaratunga. This saw an immediate upturn in
the stock market.
In a clear signal
to international investors, IMF official Carter praised the UNF budget
as good and balanced. The budget introduced a new round
of restructuring in the state sector and further concessions to big
business, as well as a small salary increase for public sector employees
and a fertilizer subsidy to farmers. While earlier, the IMF had insisted
upon no pay rise and a further cut in subsidies, its endorsement of
the measures demonstrated its concern that deepening popular discontent
could intensify the governments crisis.
On Thursday, after
a meeting of UNF parliament members, government spokesman and UNF minister
G.L. Peiris told a press conference that Wickremesinghe was ready to
participate in a working arrangement with the president. If necessary,
he would sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with her. The following
day, Kumaratungas Peoples Alliance spokesman, Sarath Amunugama,
told a press conference that the president was willing to forget
the strained relations with the premier.
Later in the day,
Kumaratunga appeared personally before Jbiz to assure it that she and
the prime minister were working out a power-sharing deal. Their jointly
appointed committee would report back by December 15, she said, promising
not to dissolve the parliament again unless inevitable circumstances
compelled her. She undertook to meet back with the business organisation
in seven days, to be followed by Wickremesinghe.
On Friday the European
parliament made its position crystal clear. It passed a resolution praising
the UNF government for its bold steps in opening talks with
the LTTE, while criticising the presidents actions that could
threaten the internationally supported peace process. The
resolution also urged the president to work together with the
democratically elected government.
Yesterdays
Sunday Observer, which is now under Kumaratungas control, divulged
that the jointly appointed committee had agreed that Wickremesinghe
should resume control over the peace talks. It also reported that the
committee was seeking to include in its compromise deal not only the
peace talks, but also the key issues of defence, the economy,
the police and the media.
In an interview
with Londons Financial Times on November 15, Kumaratunga indicated
that she recognised her marching orders. Referring to herself and the
prime minister, she declared, At least now we agree on other things,
such as peace and the economy. This is a golden opportunity to work
together...
Despite the moves
to a rapprochement, the political situation remains tense and volatile,
with the minority parties growing increasingly nervous. The pro-LTTE
Tamil National Alliance (TNA), consisting of the Tamil United Liberation
Front (TULF), the Tamil Congress (TC) and various other groups, has
issued a statement warning they cannot trust Kumaratunga.
Arumugam Thondaman,
UNF minister and leader of the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), based
on Tamil-speaking plantation workers, warned last Monday that if the
UNF and PA decided to form an all-party government, the Tamil parties
would align with the LTTE. The concerns of the TNA and the CWC leaders
are not the democratic rights of the Tamil masses, but securing their
own position in any political settlement between the Colombo regime
and the LTTE.
Even sharper are
the conflicts within the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) headed by Kumaratunga.
While the president is accommodating to international and business pressure
to strike a compromise with the UNF, a prominent faction of her party,
including her brother Anura Bandaranaike, insists that the party should
be forging an alliance with the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), a populist,
Sinhala chauvinist organisation hostile to any peace settlement with
the LTTE.
In a desperate attempt
to balance between competing interests, Kumaratunga has continued talks
with the JVP. While no agreement has been reached on the JVPs
demands for Kumaratunga to immediately dissolve the parliament, the
president appointed four central committee members at last Mondays
SLFP central committee meeting to review an agreement with the
JVP.
Following Kumaratungas
anti-democratic moves on November 4, the JVP praised them as essential
steps. But in a statement issued on November 18, the outfit complained
that, foreign reactionary forces, using their local business and
other agents were managing the crisis in their own interests.
By exerting pressure, they had succeeded in influencing the president.
For their part,
the so-called left parties are moving to head off any independent intervention
by the masses and line them up squarely behind the agenda of the major
powers. The Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), the Communist Party (SLCP)
and the Nava Sama Samaja Party (NSSP) have insisted that the only alternative
to the present political crisis is an alliance between Kumaratunga and
Wickremesinghe. In their latest statement, issued on November 16, the
LSSP-SLCP warned the ruling parties not to squabble, as the crisis could
embrace the entire social fabric, if not solved immediately.