POLITICS

  Inside of politics

Paying the price for indecision

By Suranimala

With speculation rising of an impending parliamentary dissolution, Prime Minister Ranil Wickreme-singhe last week called his troops to order even as the SLFP-JVP combine planned a show of strength in the streets of Colombo to deliver the government a body blow.

The SLFP-JVP strategy is to bring thousands of people onto the streets by March 10 in a show of strength reminiscent of the UNP's Jana Bala Meheyuma launched by the late Gamini Athukorale, which laid the foundation for the fall of the PA administration and then seal it with the signing of a MoU between the SLFP and the JVP.

Mass agitations

These twin developments the SLFP-JVP combine hope will pave the way for mass agitations and strikes throughout the country giving President Chandrika Kumaratunga a handle to dissolve parliament before the June donor conference in Tokyo, Japan.

In fact, the JVP has insisted that dissolution is a precondition for the signing of the MoU, a condition the President is more than willing to comply with, in addition of course to the abolition of the executive presidency.

And the simple calculation of these two parties is that at a subsequent election in terms of an electoral agreement, a clear majority can be obtained.

In the rush to topple the government before the June donor conference, the SLFP negotiators have not factored in the consequence of what would happen to the moderate base of the party in the event of an alliance with the JVP, not to mention its more senior members and organisers who would necessarily have to be marginalised to accommodate the Marxists who are eyeing a minimum of 30 parliamentary seats, thereby controlling the reins of government.

The assumption is that, notwithstanding any dissension, all members will stick together in the belief victory is at hand and the simple arithmetic formula of adding the votes polled by each party will produce the magical figure of 113 parliamentary seats to take control of government.

Even concerns expressed by senior members that in the event of forming a government with the reds, the SLFP would be a prisoner of the JVP's extremist policies are brushed away with the likes of PA Spokesman Sarath Amunugama stating it will help instill discipline in government.

On the other hand, Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapakse is treading more cautiously, telling all concerned any agreement reached with the JVP will first have to be placed before the party's central committee for ratification.

And several MPs of the PA who feel a snap election at this stage will see them out of parliament, especially in the backdrop of having to accommodate the JVP, are gravitating towards the UNP and discussing the possibilities of preventing a dissolution with a national government also mooted.

Be that as it may, the government itself has been somewhat concerned, not so much of the SLFP-JVP link up but intelligence reports that indicate the JVP is planning to cripple public administration and bring about a breakdown of the law and order situation in the country using the SLFP as a shield.

Detailed study of the JVP

In this regard, Interior Minister John Amaratunga on Wednesday, March 5, submitted to the cabinet of ministers a detailed study of the JVP for its consideration, based on intelligence reports which study is expected to be taken up for discussion at the next pre cabinet meeting.

The report published in pages 12 and 13 of this issue also highlights the JVP activity through its trade union network.

It is in the light of this overall situation that Prime Minister Wickremesinghe called his troops to order at the working committee meeting on Monday, March 3, stating the time has come to move into top gear the UNF government's political activity.

Wickremesinghe kicked off the meeting by announcing the decision of the PA rebels, Ministers G.L. Peiris, S.B. Dissanayake, Mahinda Wijesekera, Bandula Gunawardena and Deputy Minister J. Wijekoon amongst others to join the UNP at an official ceremony on Wednesday, March 12.

To give added prominence to this development, the government also decided to shift the cabinet meeting for 10:30 a.m. that day, thereby enabling all ministers to be present for the occasion.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said not only should all members be present in Kandy for the occasion, but that the party has to put up a good show to kick off the political campaign the very day. Wickremesinghe is expected to address the nation also from Kandy as part of the show.

Continuing, the Prime Minister said all ministers and members must move more closely with the people since there was a tendency to lose touch with the grassroots when in government.

Wickremesinghe then focused on the Akuressa Pradeshiya Sabha election scheduled for March 8, and said various theories were floated as to which party the UNP was supporting but said since the UNP is not in the contest due to a court ruling, it will not support any of the parties in the ring.

"Tell the people to vote for those members supporting the peace process," he added.

Continuing, the Prime Minister said the party will be meeting in Matara from March 27 to 29 for a series of meetings and advised all members to be present during the three days, which opportunity he said will be used for a membership drive as well.

A similar campaign is fixed from March 16 to 18 in the Eastern Province.

He further said, due to the peace process and absence of war, the government has been successful in rebuilding the economy despite the occasional hiccup and that no organisation should be allowed to destabilise the country's revival through sabotage.

Having set the pace at the working committee meeting, more tough talk was to follow on Wednesday, March 5, at the pre cabinet meeting.

Initially, the Prime Minister asked Power Minister Karu Jayasuriya about reports of a strike in the CEB and the action taken to ensure the smooth supply of electricity.

Said Jayasuriya - "There is no problem. The Engineers Union is not supporting the strike. Therefore, there are no fears of the service being disrupted but there is some concern of possible sabotage. For that we may need to call in the armed forces."

Responded the Prime Minister, "Let's take them on. Ministers Tilak Marapone and John Amaratunga can coordinate that aspect. Let's have a separate committee to look into their salary problems. But we will look at it after the strike is brought under control."

Minister Jayasuriya had earlier indicated to the Prime Minister, he believed the JVP was instigating the technical officers to strike.

Gas price problems

Making his own contribution at the meeting, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Ravi Karunanayake said he too was faced with a similar problem over gas prices.

"Now that we have brought in a third competitor, they are trying to keep Mundo Gas out to deprive the public the benefit of reduced prices. One party has gone to court to prevent Mundo filling the cylinders. The only way to overcome this problem is to open up the Internal Trade Department and say common cylinder filling is acceptable," Karunanayake said. The Prime Minister agreed.

Said Wickremesinghe, "Yes, as a matter of fact, even with the war situation, rice prices have come down and so have vegetable prices. Gas must be brought under control. Bring the necessary legislation, to stabilise prices. Bring it by next Tuesday. Speak with Mr. Choksy and sort it out."

Having got the Prime Minister's approval to fight the gas companies, Karunanayake pressed on with the case of the Chief Justice.

"The Chief Justice is trying to tell us how to run a business, without dealing with the law. Some fundamental rights applications were filed by those who were retired after the age of 55 years. Because the CWC was virtually bankrupt when we took over, we took that prudent step. There is already a ruling by a three member bench but the Chief Justice has seen it fit not only to tell us how to conduct our business but also what government policy should be. This is a totally unacceptable situation," he said.

Once again it was the Prime Minister who responded, stating he too had seen media reports on the comments made by the Chief Justice.

"We will take up this issue once the final order is given. There is already a decision by a three member bench of the Supreme Court, so let us wait till the judgement is given. Then we will take it from there," the Prime Minister said.

Not stopping at that, the Prime Minister went on to criticise the activities of the Ministers' Private Secretaries Association, of which organisation his own Private Secretary, Sudath Chandrasekera was the president.

Said the Prime Minister,  "I must make a statement about the Navodaya. They had a carnival in Polonnaruwa. I was not happy about it. It was too high profile. Then they had another in Kotte. My private secretary was told to chair it. I had to tell him to step down. There are some financial problems that have surfaced. Auditors will have to be called in and have it checked. Let's await their report. Earlier because of ministers' conduct, the private secretaries got hit, now the ministers are getting hit because of the conduct of their private secretaries."

Added the Prime Minister "I want this association wound up. I have already given a directive."

Soon after the pre cabinet was over the ministers proceeded for the 6 p.m. cabinet meeting where they were kept waiting for 50 minutes by the President.

Softer approach

The President, however, was not in a hostile mood that evening probably due to the fact she had already vent her fury on the government at a meeting in Bandarawela days earlier, where Kumaratunga said she was once again a target of the LTTE and that the government probably was aware of it.

Kumaratunga having virtually sealed a deal with the JVP was now adopting a softer approach in cabinet, tactically hoping to lull the government into a false sense of complacency.

One dispute that did arise at this meeting however was over the payment of compensation to planters killed by the JVP during the 1988-89 terror era.

Plantations Minister Lakshman Kiriella had submitted a paper seeking Rs. 22 million as compensation for 21 planters killed by the JVP.

The President, however, was not happy with this proposal and queried why only planters were being paid.

"If you are paying the planters, then all others must also be paid. You must also pay people who were killed during the elections. If you are saying the government has no money, then you can't have money for such payments as well," Kumaratunga said.

Double standards

Acting the innocent, Karuna-nayake at this point turned to Kiriella and asked whether the payments are to be made to the families of those planters killed by the JVP. Kiriella replied in the affirmative.

Said the Prime Minister - "Then get a list of all the people killed and we can decide when we can pay them."

Almost on cue came back Karunanayake looking the President in the eye - "It was OK when C.V. Gooneratne and Ashraff were paid but when others are paid, it is opposed. Why these double standards?"

Obviously realising she was on weak ground, Kumaratunga back-tracked stating they could then adopt the Prime Minister's suggestion of an overall plan and revert to cabinet.

The problem with the government, however, is that there is a yawning gap between theory and practice and none knows it better than Kumaratunga. For all his tough talk, when it comes to action, Wickremesinghe goes soft and adopts a wait and see attitude, until he finds the wolf at the door and then moves heaven and earth to get things moving, but almost inevitably it is too little too late.

Classic examples on this score are the much promised impeachment against Chief Justice Sarath Silva and the abortive 19th Amendment. While many a party member urged action against the President for abuse of power and corrupt practices from the very outset, the Premier delayed taking action until the last moment and then introduced the abortive 19th Amendment to prevent dissolution of parliament.

True to form, the President who gave a written undertaking to Speaker Joseph Michael Perera she will not dissolve parliament as long as the government enjoys a majority has now said she no longer considers bound by the written undertaking, much akin to a similar written pledge given the JVP in October 1994 that she will abolish the executive presidency by July 1995.

But that is Chandrika Kumaratunga and if Ranil Wickremesinghe did not realise the schizophrenic political personality of Kumaratunga, he has only himself to blame for it, whatever the international pressure to carry the President along on the peace process.

And now, the President has once again put the cat among the pigeons by announcing through the JVP and SLFP at a joint press conference held Thursday, March 6, that they will oust the government if the peace process is not stopped forthwith. So much for international pressure on Kumaratunga.

Negative messages

Apart from this statement having a negative political impact on the SLFP and JVP, particularly sending out a signal to the country it will be back to war under the new alliance, it also sends a very strong negative message to the foreign investors and donor community, thereby neutralising the positive image Wickremesinghe has painstakingly build up that Sri Lanka, after 20 years of bloody war, is now at peace and in a position to offer stability.

No investor would want to come with the prospect of dissolution or war looming on the horizon and that is exactly what the SLFP-JVP combine have now dished out, in the process immeasurably strengthening the hand of the LTTE as well at the negotiating table.

It is now rest assured that when Balasingham sits down in Hakone, Japan to discus the fiscal aspects of federalism at the sixth round of talks next week, he will ask the government delegation how it intends forging ahead with the peace process and guarantee a two third majority in parliament to ensure implementation of the agreements reached when the President is threatening dissolution and the SLFP-JVP combine is calling a halt to the peace process.

The only way out of this mess - not just for the government but the country as a whole - many a minister argues, is at least now to impeach the President and send a signal there is not only stability but that there will be no dissolution of parliament.

Then again, it takes a government with balls - to use cricketing parlance - to do it and the UNP just does not seem to have any, and the people of this country will finally have to pay the price for it.

Introducing economic reforms UNF style

By Amantha Perera

There are lots of financial reforms that the government would like to implement. Under the glow of the peace process and the support of the Tamil parties it has been pushing through some of them.

The pressure to carry through as much reforms as possible is always there from the likes of the IMF and the World Bank, according to government officials.

It introduced three labour reform bills in January which ran into a major storm. Though the bills were passed, they are yet to be gazetted. The Safety-net is still to be made public.

Income tax reforms and amnesties too were passed by parliament in the midst of foul cries by the opposition. When the bills were introduced, the JVP went so far as to accuse the government of introducing tax relief to benefit businessmen supporting it.

Last week too such criticism came to the forefront when Finance Minister K. N. Choksy presented two bills — one on amendments to the Customs Ordinance and the other on public service pensions.

Helping businessmen

The only day when there was any sort of debate was Tuesday (4), when the two bills were debated.

Presenting the bills, Choksy said that 80,000 casual employees in the state sector would benefit from the new amendments to the Public Service Provident Fund Ordinance. The amendments would provide them with EPF benefits calculated on the daily wage or a monthly average. The fund however is contributory in nature, sticking to the government’s policy of changing state service pensions from the earlier non-contributory nature.

The changes to the Customs Ordinance were made in order to implement tariff changes announced in the last budget.

With the changes, taxes will be levied on import of agricultural products like onions, green gram and TV sets that were tax free.

The government announced that according to the new bill, a specific tax would be imposed on each kilo irrelevant of the invoice value. For example, a kilo of onions would now be taxed at Rs. 6 and rice flour at Rs. 7. Minister Choksy said that the change was being introduced to avoid importers getting away with forwarding under-valued invoices.

The tax on agricultural products is also expected to protect local farmers, according to the government.

The government’s decision to impose taxes on TVs was aimed at protecting the local assembling industry which according to Deputy Finance Minister Bandula Gunawardena was fledging, but important just the same.

The opposition however saw hidden agendas in the amendments. PA’s Felix Perera observed that with the new changes, anything and everything could be imported to Sri Lanka and the highest tax that could be imposed was Rs. 5 lakhs. According to Perera, for importers dealing in millions five lakhs is peanuts. He claimed that with the new changes, the revenue derived from customs charges would go down. Gunawardena however countered the argument  by bringing out figures indicating that tax revenue was going up instead.

It was however JVP’s Sunil Handunhetti who really locked horns with the government. He brought back the earlier accusation that tax relief and other reforms were aimed at benefiting businessmen backing the government. Earlier also, the JVP had charged that certain tax concessions would help businessmen who finance the UNP election campaign.

The JVP was of the view that some of the tax reforms would be beneficial to companies that were represented by Choksy in tax cases. “The new bills would be to the advantage of these companies,” Wimal Weerawansa who intervened when his junior MP was being interrupted by the government side said.

However, the Finance Minister was quite equivocal that the new bills would not apply to the cases that the JVP was referring to.

Despite the rhetoric, the two bills were passed without a vote and thus, ended the week’s work for parliament. On Wednesday (5), sittings lasted just 20 odd minutes. With the Supreme Court ruling on the Citizenship Bill, the debate was postponed. The only flashpoint was when up-country MP S. Sathasivam protested in the middle of the aisle that his amendments to the bill were not entertained.

But compared to what took place just outside the House, the Sathasivam protest was cotton candy. Students of the closed Sabaragamuwa University, egged on by the JVP backed Inter University Students’ Federation, were marching towards parliament just as MPs were leaving the chamber.

They had converged near parliament after coming all the way from Sabaragamuwa in hired buses. Police too had alighted from buses coming from far off places like Kalutara and were waiting to welcome the protesters with riot gear.

Siege point

While the protesters marched towards parliament, and police waited, ordinary civilians were stuck in a huge traffic block cursing all and sundry.

But worse was in store. When the protesters reached the barriers, they wanted to go all the way. No chance, and police baton charged and tear gassed the 500 or so undergraduates. The protesters, some in robes and others in Boss jeans ran for dear life.

The police had however overlooked to stop traffic at a point far enough to shield the general public in vehicles from the tear gas. Some canisters landed close to the stalled traffic and the occupants were left to rue the fact that protesters as well as the police in this country were idiots.

In the melee, parliament became a siege point. All access roads were closed. MPs late for sessions, which had concluded by then after the extended 20 minutes, were navigating traffic on the wrong side by moving other vehicles out of the way and taking alternate routes. It seems members have an aversion to sharing the roads with the voters who put them in office, not to mention the flashy cars they abuse at state expense.

But like what generally takes place inside the seat of democracy, the protest too fizzled out. After the tear gas treatment, the protesters retreated to the buses and later in the day representatives met with Tertiary Education Minister Kabir Hashim and sorted out matters.

Why neither the protesters nor the Ministry officials had thought of scheduling a meeting before the morning tear gas fiasco, no one could explain.

The tear gas treatment was the second one in succession for the JVP or for one of its fronts. Just three weeks back, party big guns were given the water cannon treatment.

The big question now is whether the same fare will be offered at the joint JVP-SLFP rally scheduled for tomorrow.

On Thursday (6), parliament took up condolences.

While the debates and non-debates were taking place, on the side, TULF Leader V. Anandasangari  made a special statement on Tuesday denying that he was under any threat. According to the TULF leader, he took wing to Austria to attend a seminar soon after the opening of the Jaffna Library was postponed. He denied that he fled the country.

Paddy cultivation ruined

However, the TULF Leader promptly left the country later in the week and did not take part in the TNA meeting with LTTE  Chief Negotiator, Anton Balasingham.

Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapakse too made a special statement accusing that government policy had ruined paddy cultivation. He said the government was not in a position to buy paddy at the set price and mill owners were mortgaging property to meet finances.

Finance Minister Choksy said that the government had already released Rs. 500 million to buy paddy harvests in 17 districts. A further Rs. 453 million was needed to buy the full harvest. He  also said that state owned banks would assist mill owners.

The day after the Finance Minister made these remarks, a new study by the UNDP and the Mahbub ul Haq Human Development Centre, revealed that farmers in Sri Lanka were the poorest of the poor and a lot of work and effort were needed to correct the situation.

Dr. JJ’s quest for good press

Dr. Jayalath Jayawardena has been having some pretty bad press recently. The latest has been the controversy surrounding the stock of rice sent to Jaffna. The stock, which was allegedly below the specified weight, is now under scrutiny, though Dr. JJ has been quite vociferous about his innocence. Probably not satisfied with that, Dr. Jayawardena  last week resorted to a hands-on approach to get his views across. Not that he had not adopted such an attitude before, he loves the media.

Last week, when he came across the JVP’s Sunil Handunhetti he felt like letting his heart out. He related to Handunhetti how the government agent of Jaffna, C. Pathmanadan had swindled the government by claiming compensation twice over for a residence.

Addressing the JVPer as “malli,” Dr. Jayawardena was doing his little number to get the JVP to raise the issue in parliament. “Why don’t you raise it as a privilege issue?” was the nonchalant reply that came the Minister’s way.

But the JVP rebuttal did not put off the Reconstruction and Re-habilitation Minister who thereafter proceeded to cozy up to the media.

Soon after his chit chat with Handunhetti, Dr. Jayawardena was seen in the company of some Tamil journalists. The Minister was dictating the story about the wrongdoings of the Jaffna GA word by word.

But the story is old news. The Sunday Leader reported it on February 16 and the Jaffna GA has already paid whatever amount he over claimed.

The Ministry  discovered the over payment after it paid the full amount. By which time, Pathmanadan had stated that he had not claimed compensation before. He lied. But the Ministry, to be sure could have held back its payment until it had confirmation, which it received after the payment was made.

The Jaffna GA has a different take on the story and its leak, which is now coming from the Minister himself. He told The Sunday Leader that he is not in the good books of the Ministry after the controversy about the rice deal broke out and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had intervened, making life that much more difficult for Dr. JJ.

The JVP and its media

The JVP too has its media backers like all other parties. Recently, a journalist whose love of the JVP is no secret — he edits news for the pro-JVP Lanka newspaper — convened a meeting of journalists to form an organisation named National Media Movement.

When another journalist commented that all those who are members of the new do are pro-JVP, the convenor blew a fuse and started lambasting him of being a UNP backer.

JVP-SLFP talks hit devolution snag

The JVP-SLFP talks have hit a snag of sorts on the issue of devolution of power.

The JVP took to the streets when the then PA government introduced its own draft constitution which entailed power sharing in 2000.

The JVP has so far not aired its views on the power sharing issue, simply sticking to its line that it is totally against the present peace negotiations.

Within the SLFP itself, a section which is not too thrilled of a link with the JVP have now come out arguing that before any agreement, the JVP should state its position on devolution of power.

Unofficially though, the JVP had agreed during its meetings with the SLFP on a political solution, but neither party is going public with this.

According to PA MP Dilan Perera, there should be a multi party approach to the problem. That however seems a long way off. While the JVP and SLFP were getting closer, there were splits appearing within the SLFP and the PA as well.

Former Minister A. H. M. Fowzie is not very happy about the talks with the Marxists and where they are heading.

Last week in parliament he told journalists that the time was not right for a tie-up between the JVP and the SLFP. He charged that the JVP was not entertaining alternative views. Any JVP-SLFP tie-up would also be detrimental to the peace process, according to Fowzie. In his view, what was needed at this juncture was for all parties to come together and work towards a solution.

But that would be the last thing on the mind of those participating in the joint JVP-SLFP rally tomorrow against the peace process.

Under threat

TULF Leader V. Anandasangari last week made a special statement in parliament denying that he was under any threat, and that he had fled the country. He said that there was no threat from the LTTE or any other party and that the opening of the Jaffna library was postponed because various groups were against the opening.

The Sunday Leader happened to catch up with TELO representative D. Siddharathan in parliament, who was not very convinced by Anandasangari’s speech.

Siddharathan said that according to what he had heard, when the TNA met with the LTTE leadership recently the indication was that Anandasangari’s days at the helm of the TULF were limited.

True to form, Anandasangari gave the TNA meeting with Anton Balasingham the miss on Friday (7). But it is also true to say Anandasangari belongs to the rare breed of gentleman politicians and is unmoved by wisecracks.

Siddharathan was optimistic that the peace talks would not breakdown any time soon, but he did not share the same sentiment about the success of the process.

However, the support that is extended by parties like TELO and EPDP along with the TNA, has allowed the government to push through legislation that is politically unpopular in the south, like pension reforms.

According to the Tamil MP, the support is due to the fact that they do not want to undermine the peace process in any manner. Such an attitude is a blessing for the government.

If not for such blanket support, it would be under increasing pressure from the combined JVP-SLFP opposition moving to topple it.

Pillow time

The cabinet press briefing can be a boring affair, and journalists and other officials have at times had difficulty concentrating, especially when the speakers rant on and on.

So the other day, when a journalist walked into the briefing with a pillow, the first reaction was that it was a sign of the times. One wag remarked that at least now the message would get through, “that if there is nothing to say, these guys should shut up.”

Sadly it was not a statement, the poor soul was suffering from back pains and no there was no change in the talk attitude.

PA rebels take UNP membership

The PA rebels S. B. Dissanayake, Prof. G. L. Peiris, Mahinda Wijesekera, Bandula Gunawardena and the rest will take UNP membership on Wednesday at a ceremony to be held in Kandy. The rebels are also planning a massive membership drive and a rally supporting the peace process.