Rajapakse calls for support in war against terror

COLOMBO: When the Air force MiG 27 fighter jets flying at low altitudes dropped their bunker buster bombs accurately upon target on Nov 5, killing five guerilla commanders along with the LTTE second in command Suppiah Palani Thamilchelvan, it was seen as a major victory for the military in particular and for President Mahinda Rajapakse in general.

The high profile killing, accomplished by targeting the LTTE’s Command and Communications Centre in the rebel de facto state in northern Killinochchi came two weeks before Rajapakse, elected on a pro war ticket completed two years in office.

Having won the presidential election on Nov 17, 2005, Mahinda Rajapakse in his purported quest for an ‘honourable peace’ has along with his hawkish brother, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse proved to be a match to the LTTE war maestro Vellupillai Prabhakaran, driving the rebels completely out of the eastern region in July for the first time in fourteen years.

And now amidst incensed pledges by the Defence Secretary to annihilate the LTTE in the north, the Lankan military has delivered the biggest blow to the rebels by bombing the top rung of the rebel group including the guerilla outfit’s political chief Thamilchelvan and Tiger communication expert Anpumani alias Alex.

But the question asked by many is whether the fiery war victories have helped Rajapakse mould his popularity any firmer in a background of soaring costs of living, allegations of mass scale corruption and a souring of relations with the media.

While recent public surveys reveal that the majority of the Southern Sinhalese still support a military crushing of the LTTE indicators in other areas point out that Rajapakse’s esteem among the masses may have significantly deteriorated.

But observers say Mahinda Rajapakse who strives to maintain an image of being a ‘people’s man’ may be able to survive, at least temporarily on the sole strength that he has steered the military to a series of victories against the LTTE.

“He (President Rajapakse) would want to ride on the present war waves which are favourable towards the military, especially following last week’s targeting of the rebel high command. But while this will keep him afloat upon the political tides in the short term, he may have to watch out for an abrupt change of weather in the long term”, a political analyst affiliated to a Colombo based think tank opined.

Among the many headaches of the president is his government’s inability to mitigate or provide solutions to the country’s sky rocketing cost of living.

As the new budget for 2008 unveiled in Parliament on Wednesday proved, Rajapakse’s priority is the war and maintaining his image as the man who can bomb the LTTE into peace.

Rajapakse, who also serves as defence and finance minister on Wednesday asked Parliament for a 20 per cent increase in defence expenditure bringing it to a record 166.4 billion rupees ($1.5 billion).

In a speech spanning nearly two hours the president stressed that ‘terrorism should be completely defeated’ appealing for support in passing the massive defence budget in parliament.

The budget which has an overall focus on promoting local industry but dismissed by Rajapakse’s critics as not offering any significant benefit to the common man, is expected to face sharp debate over the next two weeks.

If it fails to pass, the government could fall, forcing new elections but the general opinion is that the SLFP led regime supported by several minority parties will be able to pull through to obtain a majority vote in the 225 member legislature.

Meanwhile analysts point out that his estranged relationships in the political arena, with his former election campaigners, the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and his dissident Foreign Minister, Mangala Samaraweera who has liked up with the main Opposition, the United National Party (UNP), could take a turn for the worst following the new budget described as not offering any relief to the inflation ridden country.

The JVP and Samaraweera who have over the past two years changed from ardent supporters to vociferous critics and who are directly responsible for steering public agitation against Rajapakse will have more strikes and protest marches up their sleeve in the months to come, political sources say.

However it is pointed out that the JVP, although subjecting Rajapakse to fiery tongue lashings on allegations of corruption and economy would still offer strong support to the president on issues relating to the war helping him to balance himself on the tightrope of political survival.