Are we going under the waters?
by Rohan Jayawardane
There are several reports of abnormal geological phenomena which when included in a composite scenario presents to all residents a most disturbing and ominous potential for the future:
(a) A Sirasa radio report in January 2000, that there are seismic disturbances in the Kandy and Matale areas with attendant earthslips; the sound of running waters beneath the soil; warnings of highways being possibly washed away; hamlets being evacuated;
(b) the same report on Sirasa also referred to similar seismic disturbances even in far away Deniyaya district;
(c) the seismic disturbance in December 1999 in the Kollupitiya (Colombo 3) area where the Beira lake is located besides being adjacent to the sea;
(d) the official report in January 2000 that the sluicegates of Parakrama Samudra had been unavoidably ——spill over (flooding) at least partially caused by the large accumulations of waters in the Matale and nearby areas from which ‘’feeder’’ waterways had taken the seething waters northwards to Polonnaruwa; plus the opening of the sluicegates alone flooding many of the trunk roads in the Polonnaruwa district sooner or later!
Even a casual reflection reveals that there may be serious geological problems immediately in the offing at least in the highlands, while the connected lowlands are also being gradually affected. But is the disturbance in Colombo another alarming connection?
It is strictly fair by the citizenry of Sri Lanka if there is a learned evaluation of these phenomena and a Report published immediately! Should not the free press take this up?
In fact one shudders at the recollection that the seeimic monitors in the Mahaweli Zone are now not being maintained albeit installed originally as an Early Warning System!
Swarnavahini "The National TV station"
Since the dawn of the year 1999, almost all media o riginations looked forward to a year later, the dawn of the New Millennium with articles appearing invariably every other day in the news papers and TV stations running build-ups, etc. The anticipated unpredictable global situation arising out of the Y2K syndrome was in fact a major fear the people had until the earth dawned into the new millennium.
I being a frequent business traveller had the opportunity to learn how each country planned their activities to celebrate the birth of the new millennium with historical and cultural events leading to the dawn whatever the outcome could have been as some predicted worldwide disaster.
It could have been a shame for our countrymen if not for Swarnavahini that made a significant contribution towards the new millennium that brought us pride and placed ourselves at or above par with other nations.
The entire world saw through the international transmission network of BBC, SKY and CNN the Millennium event of Swarnavahini which is a private organization representing the interest of our small war torn nation.
I shall therefore, categorically state that Swarnavahini should be given its right the due place and treated as a National TV Channel of Sri Lanka.
Well done Swarnavahini, keep it up for bringing fame to our country with that magnificent programma which otherwise Sri Lanka would have been a non-existent nation in the world with "happenings" all around the world to coincide with the dawn of the Millennium.
Alfred de Soysa
Nawala
Time right for consensual solutions, says Peace Alliance
The Action Committee of the National Alliance for Peace views with concern the recent increase of violence related to the ethnic conflict and the intensification of the divisions within the democratic stream of politics, particularly between the PA and the UNP, states a media release from the National Alliance for Peace (NAP)
The increase of violence has been due partly to the intensification of the war and also through an increase of terrorist acts directed against unarmed civilians. Among the latter has been the attempt on the life of the democratically elected President of the country, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, on 18th December 1999 at the final PA rally held at the Colombo Town Hall premises. Though she was injured and was fortunate to survive over 20 innocent people were killed and several more injured. A little earlier on the same day former General Lucky Algama was killed along with 11 others at the UNP rally at Jaela. A few days later as a result of a bomb blast which presumably targeted a prominent politician, such as a Government Minister, opposite the Prime Minister’s office at Flower Road, Colombo there were 11 deaths and about 20 injured. These three brutal incidents involved suicide bombers and were clearly the work of the LTTE.
There have been other incidents like the murders of Tamil Congress leader Kumar Ponnambalam and the Editor of Thinamarusu in Colombo and a SLBC radio journalist in Vavuniya where the perpetrators have not yet been identified. The National Alliance for Peace condemns all these cold blooded planned attacks on unarmed civilians and appeals to all those involved in the ethnic conflict to do everything possible to prevent and avoid such actions. They only serve to increase the divisions and tensions within our society and make the resolution of the ethnic problem more difficult.
The increase of confrontation politics between the PA and the UNP, which was heightened by the Presidential election campaign, is still continuing. It is also unfortunate that sections of the Government and privately owned media are provoking and promoting such divisive confrontations. The situation that exists today is not one that is conducive to a solutioon of the ethnic problem. The disunity among the people is also aggravated and this lends itself to exploitation of the situation to the advantage of extremists. The National Alliance for Peace appeals to the political leaders, particularly the President and the Leader of the Opposition, to act in a statesmanlike manner that will set the tone for the rest of the country. It also appeals to the media to act with a greater sense of responsibility.
The Presidential election has resulted in a victory for Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga at the first ballot and rather than perpetuating antagonisms it is time that the political leaders buried the hatchet and got together to solve the most important national problem, the ethnic conflict.
The claims made by some Sinhala extremists that the election result was a mandate for a continuation of the war to the exclusion of a political solution is not borne out by the facts. President Kumaratunga who received 51.12% of the vote clearly indicated at every public meeting a determination to solve the ethnic problem through a political solution (the Devolution Package and a Constitutional Amendment) leading to eventual talks with the LTTE. After her victory she stressed her opposition to "terrorism" but maintained her determination to seek an end to the war through a political dialogue with Mr. Prabhakaran. Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe who received 42.72% of the vote also proposed a political solution based on setting up an interim council, which included the LTTE, for the North and East with eventual talks with the LTTE. Therefore both major candidates who received close on 94% of the vote were espousing a political solution to the problem rather than a military one.
It is clear therefore that the time is right for the working out of a consensual solution that is acceptable to a majority of the Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim people. This calls for a high degree of statesmenship among the political leaders, particularly by President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. We appeal to the two leaders to meet each other, along with their party leadership and iron out the areas of disagreement. Within a specific period of time the proposals of the PA and the UNP should be discussed and an agreement be reached atleast on the principles of a durable solution. A significant degree of agreement must be worked out within a month or two and then an attempt should be made to have joint PA/UNP talks with the LTTE. The force of public opinion both within the country and in the outside world, which would include the Tamil community, would impel the LTTE to participate constructively in the political dialogue. It is our view that this process would be best facilitated by the active involvement of a strong third party that commands the respect and confidence of all concerned.
If the PA and the UNP are unable to make headway then the Government should proceed to present the Devolution Proposals to Parliament as an amendment of the Constitution. We appeal to all concerned to promote a free conscience vote as this is a national issue that should be considered to be above narrow party politics. If the requisite 2/3 majority is obtained then the PA can proceed to hold negotiations with the LTTE, preferably as joint negotiations involving the UNP as well.
If the requisite 2/3 majority is not obtained then the Government should explore other means of proceeding with the amendment of the Constitution or drafting an entirely new Constitution. One possible step is to declare the parliamentary general election that has to be held by August of this year as being for the setting up of a Constituent Assembly. If the country is to be saved there must be the requisite political will among our leaders, the responsible and active cooperation of all sections of the people, Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim and the constructive support of officialdom, the Judiciary and Police in particular.
Prof. Tissa Vitarana
Chairman of the Action Committee and Convenor of the NAP