INTERVIEWS

President will not de-merge NE unilaterally

-- Amunugama

Dr.Amunugama says during the last few weeks the people from the east have been requesting the President to intervene in the wake of the recent attacks on them. "This is what has compelled the President to go into all these apprehensions and complaints," Dr.Amunugama told The Sunday Leader in an interview.

- Following are excerpts:

By Wilson Gnanadass

Q: President Chandrika Kumaratunga has indicated that she is interested in de-merging the currently merged north east. Is she really serious about doing it?

A: During the last three weeks a large number of representatives of all communities particularly from the Eastern Province have been meeting the President and requesting her to intervene. This is because there is an obvious security problem over there. Firstly there is the question of the Wan Ela (Manirasakulam) camp, which has been established by the LTTE in contravention of the MOU.

Secondly all attempts to negotiate a settlement on this issue by the Sri Lankan government and the SLMM have failed. The latest information is that the camp is being expanded. Thus there is a stalemate on the ground. Thirdly the Muslims in the east have been under severe strain. Some have been killed, others have been abducted and the government is helpless. Their suggestion to set up Muslim home guards has widened the cleavage between the Muslim and Tamil representatives.

Fourthly the Muslims' claim to have independent representation in the discussion with the LTTE has not met with success. Fifthly with the government sending signals that they will set up an interim administration the people of all three communities in the east who have been kept out entirely in these discussions are naturally apprehensive. Thus all the way from Trinco to Ampara there are trouble spots. Naturally therefore these affected groups have conveyed their apprehension to the President. She is now in the process of going into all these apprehensions and complaints.

Q: According to the constitution under Section 37 of the Provincial Council Act, the northeast was temporarily merged and only a referendum could decide on its future merger. Do you think President Kumaratunga would overlook this piece of legislation?

A: I cannot speak for the President on this matter. But all along she has kept within the constitution of the country.  The constitutional position is that these two distinct provinces have been temporarily merged. They cannot be permanently merged without taking steps which are spelled out in the constitution.

Q: The only way the north east could be de-merged according to the law is to hold a referendum and the President cannot do it arbitrarily. Is this what the President is planning to do?

A: If the UNP government wants to merge the two provinces then it will have to persuade the President to have a referendum. The other alternative is to change this constitutional provision by a two third majority in parliament. It is up to the Supreme Court to decide whether a national referendum would be necessary as well, if such a constitutional amendment is brought before parliament. At present it is clear that the UNP does not even have the two third majority in parliament. The Muslim MPs who constitute the group that provides a bare majority to the UNP in parliament will certainly not support a merger.

Q: The people in the east are unlikely to vote for the de-merger. In such a situation the country will lose confidence in the President and her party as this may even affect the peace process. What are your views?

A: Firstly this is a speculative question. Lots of steps must happen before an actual referendum is held. Both the UNP and the PA have subscribed to the present constitutional requirement. President J.R. Jayewardene introduced this and the date of the referendum has been put off by him and by all his successors (UNP and PA). So this matter has to be resolved through discussion.

Q: Tamil parties are vehemently opposed to the President's move to de-merge the north east. How do you think the PA could win their support in the event an election is held?

A: The fact is that in all parliamentary votes these parties have been voting with the government. This however is obviously a tactical matter for those parties. My impression is that the President will seriously consider the positions taken by these Tamil parties before she takes a final decision. What I must emphasise is that this is not a matter only for the President. It is a matter to be faced by both the President and the UNP government. For example already some Muslim Congress MPs have told the Prime Minister that they would support any de-merger. Thus both sides have to take into account the multiplicity of views and interest in the Eastern Province. This is exactly what our party has been telling the Prime Minster and his government - that the Muslim and Sinhala communities and even large segments of the Tamil community should not be betrayed in their hurry to strike a deal with the LTTE.

Q: President keeps sending letters to the government regarding so many issues, but the government does not seem to be responding to them positively. Do you think the government does not take the President's letters seriously?

A: The UNP part of the government must realise that the President is the head of state and head of government. It is the president and not the prime minister who is the head of the cabinet. Whether someone likes it or not, that is the constitutional position set out in the JRJ constitution. So as head of the government and cabinet she is empowered to issue instructions to the prime minister and the cabinet ministers. In fact on most occasions my impression is that the PM and cabinet ministers have responded to the directions given by their President.

Q: The latest letter she has sent is the letter addressed to the Power and Energy Minister. Though power failures were a common occurrence under the PA regime, the President never bothered to send letters to the then Power and Energy Minister. Doesn't this question the bona fides of the President?

A: Not at all. During the previous regime the President gave direct orders on many occasions to the ministers and officials concerned. In fact as minister of finance she was also the chairman of the committee on power. All governments from JRJ onwards have had a high level inter ministerial committee on power and energy, which was chaired by the president. It appears that this committee is now in abeyance. Therefore the President has no option but to give written instructions to her minister of power and energy. In fact with the escalating cost of power and energy which has been a constant feature of the UNP government, their talk of foreign direct investment and competitive production for the region and the world is really a big joke. With the present cost of power and energy in our country no serious investor is going to put his money here unless he needs to get his head examined.

Q: Is the PA prepared to face an election?

A: The PA as the main opposition is quite ready to face any election. It is clear to any person that there is a tremendous revulsion against the present government. The gap between what they promised at the last election and what is reality now gives an opposition enough space to drive a whole horse and carriage. So opposition parties have no fear of elections unlike the government.

Q: There is also a rumour that the President is planning to dissolve parliament in December this year. Is there any truth in it?

A: I cannot speak for the President. However there are no constitutional obstacles to her dissolving parliament if she wishes to.

Q: The most common occurrence of the day now is the protest campaigns led by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) in Colombo city. Is the main opposition also behind these campaigns?

A: In fact none of these strikes and protests are led by the JVP. If you examine the striking organisations in the health sector, university sector, industrial sector etc, it is clear that trade unions representing all parties are forming a united front at work force level. As an MP for Kandy District, I know for instance that the UNP led JSS members are also participating in the university strike. Their president is in the action committee. Similarly in other work places, JSS representatives, in spite of the 'please! please!!'  made by the ministers are involved in strikes. As a former minister of irrigation I can say that the joint front against the dismemberment of the department has the active support of the UNP led JSS. Therefore the media ploy to blame the JVP does not stand scrutiny.

Q: What is the current status of the JVP-SLFP coalition. Is it not going to take off the ground?

A: The talks are continuing and we have narrowed our differences to a large extent. Both parties have agreed to conclude the discussions by the end of September the latest. Personally I am quite optimistic.

Q: The President and SLFP leaders had three days of discussions with the former President of Finland and the Club of Madrid. Does this mean that the Norwegians are to be replaced?

A: It is true that there has been a lot of dissatisfaction with the role played by the Norwegians. Both the PA and JVP have issued a joint communiqu‚ stating that they are very unhappy about the biased ways in which they have carried out their duties. However the discussion with Mr. Ahrti Sari, former president of Finland did not involve any discussion regarding a new facilitator. Our position has been clearly stated in the communiqu‚ referred to earlier where we said as far as monitoring naval operations are concerned we would prefer a three member monitoring group which would include India. We have no reason to change that position.