COLOMBO: President Chandrika Kumaratunga on Tuesday vowed to go ahead with the joint mechanism with the LTTE, the first ever agreement with the Tamil Tiger rebels after they walked out of peace talks in April 2003, even if that meant losing her presidency or the downfall of her coalition government. “As the head of state and head of government, I will do my best to go ahead with the joint mechanism with the LTTE,” President Kumaratunge told a religious committee on Tuesday stating that democracy meant the opinion of 51 per cent.
The committee meeting was attended by the Buddhist hierarchical monk, the Ven. Tibbotuwave Sumangala Thera, Colombo’s Anglican Bishop Rt. Rev. Duleep De Chickera and other religious leaders.
“If we keep on bowing to everybody’s opinion then I cannot take the country forward”, she further added referring to her errant political ally, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna. Her fiery statement comes in the wake of her coalition party, the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) reiterating their eternally anti-LTTE stance by opposing with vehemence the proposed agreement with the LTTE, which was first decided upon in early January.
However, President Kumaratunge took a barb at the LTTE when she claimed that agreeing to the joint mechanism did not mean the government ‘trusted the LTTE fully’. “It is foolish to trust the LTTE entirely. It has its own reasons for the joint mechanism”, she said.
“The Joint Mechanism can be used as a platform to talk peace, we should not let it go. The LTTE has shown signs of following the democratic process,” she had told the religious leaders.
President Kumaratunge’s statements come in a background of the government military spokesperson Brigadier Daya Ratnayake claiming that the LTTE was trying to provoke another war following incidents where the LTTE had fired towards military camps.
While no mention was made of the deteriorating security situation or the killing spree witnessed in the east, President Kumaratunge attempted to dispel fears of the religious community that the Joint mechanism would pave the way for the LTTE’s demand for an Interim Self-Governing Authority (ISGA), described by Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar last year as a blue print for a separate Tamil state.
Following President Kumaratunga’s speech, the religious leaders holding a closed-door discussion with her had requested for details of the joint mechanism be made known to the public. The request was not immediately agreed to by President Kumaratunge, stating that the details could not be revealed at present as it would be wrongly interpreted.
For President Kumaratunge, the continuous protests by the JVP regarding the Joint mechanism are clearly less threatening than the international pressure for the signing of the agreement and the negative impact caused by the present vacuum in the peace process with regard to the obtaining of international aid.
The joint mechanism, which is fast becoming an ultimatum before the release of foreign aid, much needed by the government in the aftermath of the tsunami disaster of December 26, is obviously the test that will check Kumaratunge’s ability to face the consequences, if the JVP with 39 seats in Parliament departs from the Alliance.
Meanwhile, for the peace facilitators, the Norwegians, the inability by the UPFA government to agree with the LTTE on the formation of the Joint Mechanism, considered by many to being a possible prelude to direct talks, is a test of patience.
The continuous killings carried out in the country, mainly in the east by the LTTE and its renegade faction (militants supporting its dissident leader Karuna), coupled with the JVP’s opposing any kind of peace move with the LTTE, are two of the main headaches Norway has to cope with. The situation as witnessed by visiting Norwegian special peace envoy Erik Solheim a fortnight ago was not peaceful, his visit coinciding with several killings in the east and ceasefire violations by the LTTE.
With regard to the Norwegians however, the most recent whip lash the Norwegians, who has always been branded by the JVP and nationalistic forces as being partial to the LTTE, has to face, are accusations that the Norwegian Embassy had provided the Tamil Tigers with vehicles assigned to the Norwegian Embassy.
The JVP member, Wimal Weerawanse told Parliament on Wednesday that the Foreign Ministry should take action to investigate into a recent incident of a Norwegian Ministry vehicle being found used by the LTTE social arm, the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization.
His statement was followed by a special statement made to Parliament by Buddhist monk, Ven. Athuruliye Ratane, who stated that the party would not support any future plans by the government if it went ahead with the Joint mechanism.
