PC elections and peace talks

Provincial Council elections are due soon and whether the government likes it or not, the recent decision of the Supreme Court which held that the bill to postpone elections required a two third majority in parliament makes it imperative that elections have to be held soon.With or without these provincial legislatures the country can get along but elections to these councils will enable the public to give their verdict on statements of President Kumaratunga such as : This government has done in four years what the UNP could do in fifty years’

While we too have pushed for provincial elections to be held because the people can voice their opinion on the performance of the government, there are distinct advantages as well as disadvantages in holding elections at this time. From now on every government decision will be made with elections in mind. We have already experienced the advantages such as the decision to suspend (mind you, not drop) the proposal to give MPs and ministers 60 to 70 percent salary hikes. Yesterday, it was reported that the government had called off ‘ Operation Jayasikurui’ and opened a new front. Apparently the generals are now not so ‘sikurui’ about ‘ Jayasikurui’. We do hope this has been done on sound military strategy and is not a political strategy. One reason why the terrorists have been able to keep going on for so many years is that military decisions have been made for political advantages of the ruling party.

Even more dangerous about making decisions with elections in mind is that the PA and even the UNP will now be bending over backwards to cater to the demands of communal parties like the TULF, SLMC and CWC. Certainly minority rights and aspirations are important but often the demands made by these communal parties are neither to the benefit of the minorites or the nation but to serve their immediate political interests.

Elections campaigns will take off with the terrorist leader Prabakaran’s offer for peace talks in the air. Practically every political party has been advocating a negotiated settlement calling for peace talks with the terrorists. The UNP under Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe is the latest to join the refrain. The Chandrika Kumaratunga government, having rushed in for talks immediately after her victory at the polls learnt about LTTE terrorism the hard way has been cautious in reacting to the LTTE offer. Yesterday a leading apologist for the PA made a valiant attempt to explain the government’s effeminate response to the terrorist’s offer by saying that the LTTE was only responding to President Kumaratunga’s statement that the government was ready to engage in political negotiations within a stipulated framework. Others could point out that the statement made by Prabakaran over LTTE’s clandestine radio, release of some army personnel held by the LTTE and the statement of the Bishop of Mannar came before the president’s statement. The dogged loyalty of Bakthi Gee singers in the state media apart, it is like the argument of whether the hen or the egg came first.

With the UNP leader openly calling for talks with the LTTE and the government too agreeing to talks with the terrorists, it is time that President Kumaratunga and the UNP leader attempted to reach consensus on an agenda for the proposed talks. Undoubtedly this will be a difficult task during an election campaign considering the fact that during the past four years they were unable to do so despite moves made with good intentions such as that of the British government. Perhaps a facilitator could help at this moment.

We doubt very much this desire of Prabakaran for a negotiated settlement short of a separate state and believe that this offer is a response to governments of developed countries taking a tough stand on international terrorism and the LTTE being caught up with it. Nonetheless, the government has to take up this challenge. If the government and the UNP cannot adopt a common stand then the LTTE and its supporters will accuse the government and the UNP of war- mongering.

Calling upon the UNP leader Ranil Wickremasinghe and President Kumaratunga to hold talks on the most intractable problem facing the country at a time when hot words are being exchanged about a UNP — Uncle Nephew Papers — is indeed optimistic, particularly when an election campaign is about to kick off. We of The Island too can be called a UNP paper— Uncle Niece Paper and in all sincerity do hope that this Uncle Nephew Paper war of words would be called off and both the UNP and President Kumaratunga reach agreement on an agenda for talks with the terrorists.