INTERVIEWS

"LTTE will not wait forever"

Education Minister Dr. Karunasena Kodituwakku charged that the present political deadlock is the creation of President Kumaratunga and it is now up to her to break it. The Minister said if an election is to be held soon, the President would realise her own position. "At an election the people are going to deliver their judgment over President Kumaratunga's actions of forcibly taking over three ministries. So we are awaiting an opportunity to go before the people," he told The Sunday Leader in an interview.

Following are excerpts: 

By Wilson Gnanadass 

Q: President Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe have so far failed to enter into a working arrangement. What exactly is going to happen?

A: Before directly responding to the question, at the outset I would like to say here that this is a crisis created by the President. With the election of 2001 the country was moving positively and steadily so much so that the north east conflict came to a halt. International community supported this immensely. Everybody in society had hopes for the future. If the President is genuine and sincere, the best thing she could do is to revert back to the pre-November 4 status and talk to the Prime Minister about national consensus or whatever she thinks is suitable for the country.

But the precondition is that she must return to the position that was in existence before November 4. Personally knowing both leaders, I think this uncertainty would continue for sometime until people would give their judgment at an election. I think the earliest might be the provincial election to be held next March. By that time the President would have realised that the public is not backing her and for the sake of the country she must come into a compromise with the Prime Minister. In a country where sovereignty is vested with the people, the voice of the people must hold the final judgment.

Q: Political analysts say at least one leader must be able to sacrifice his/her ego for the sake of the country. Who do you think should take the first step forward?

A: I think it is the President. What else could the Prime Minister do beyond this quo is my question. In fact the tolerance he has displayed so far, is the maximum sacrifice he could offer. After the President took over three ministries, the Prime Minister still maintained his gentlemanly style of politics and when he was requested to visit the President's House he did so. I think it is up to the President now to make her own sacrifices if she is really concerned about the country's future.

Q: Though the UNF made a hue and cry about the take over of the ministries, the party voted for the defence budget unanimously. What is the rationale behind this?

A: In fact I was explaining this same point when taking part in the mass communication committee stage debate. You see, according to our constitution the cabinet has a collective responsibility. So whether we like or not under the present constitution the President is the head of the cabinet and she is holding three portfolios. And in the case of defence, though she was making so many pronouncements and criticism when Marapone was the minister in charge, she has not made much changes in this regard after the takeover.

The only change she has done with regards to defence is that she has changed the minister and the ministry secretary. As far as I can see, the defence apparatus is functioning the same way as then. Security is given to the LTTE and LTTE bases are still remaining.

So I do not see any changes. But of course the bottom line is that we abide by the constitution. We would like to stick to the tradition of holding on to collective responsibility. If one day the ministries that are now under the President violate the laws of the land then within parliament itself there are safeguards. A minister can continue as a minister only till such time he/she commands the confidence of the majority of parliament. For example if a no-confidence motion is passed against me tomorrow, I have to step down. This applies to everyone. Now that the President is holding ministries in my view she too would be coming under the same law.

Q: But don't you think that by voting for the defence budget the UNF endorsed the take over of the Ministry and further justifying the President's actions?

A: No. It is neither an endorsement nor a justification of the President's action. As I mentioned earlier the defence establishment is a very sensitive issue in any country. From the army commander to the lowest rank a soldier is given equal importance when it comes to national defence. So we must make sure that no wrong signals are sent to the people who are protecting the national sovereignty of the country. Therefore, it is not her action we have approved, but displayed the confidence we have on our defence forces.

Of course as a minister and also as President she has failed miserably during the last seven years. If you look at the Dalada Maligawa bombing incident, it is a place that some people in our country regard as the symbol of sovereignty. But both her as the President and Anuruddha Ratwatte as defence minister could not protect it.

And we know how many army bases were overrun by the LTTE during their tenure. And the country's symbol of economic independence - the Central Bank too could not be protected when it came under attack by the LTTE. After all the Central Bank is situated between the President's office and her residence. It was the same story with the World Trade Center, which is the symbol of commerce and industry of this country. She has proved she is not capable of handling the issue of defence at all.

Q: Both leaders have shown their readiness to face elections. What are the chances of the UNF winning the forthcoming elections?

A: Chances are very high. During the last two years - quite a short period in governance - we were able to achieve a temporary ceasefire that subsequently turned out to be a permanent one. This gave confidence to the local as well as foreign investors and I would say even the potato and paddy farmers became confident of their markets. Of course I do not have to mention the level of confidence the international community has displayed in Sri Lanka and the UNF government. The people are clearly aware of the situation before December 2001. No one wants to go back to that era. The people are also aware that the same people who ruined the country from 1994 to 2001 are still running the PA, with the only two additions being Anura Bandaranaike and the JVP.

Q: LTTE has expressed its willingness to continue the peace process and even resume talks. But the political uncertainty and the deadlock in the south are apparently preventing this. Do you think the political gridlock could lead to the resumption of war?

A: Yes. As I told you the way things are happening I do not think there would be any solution to this crisis until an election is held. It is only through an election the President would get the real message. In the case of the LTTE, what they have agreed to is a temporary ceasefire in order for talks to continue. And they have sent their proposals to us and of course we have different views on those proposals. After they handed over their proposals and when no one is prepared to talk to them from this end, the indirect message we give out is that though we theoretically say 'yes' for negotiations, practically we are not ready.

It is more or less like we have thrown away one of the two options available to the LTTE. And we have left open the opportunity for them to move into the second option. However I sincerely hope that the LTTE would not take that option which will be a disaster for the entire country. That is why we must return to the negotiating table as soon as possible.

When we analyse the events of the last 10 years, the PA has failed miserably in negotiations. They had a golden opportunity in 1994. Within the last two years we have proved that we are better negotiators. In fact the President has told the Premier to continue the negotiations. That means she knows the Premier is a better negotiator than her. Therefore, I appeal to President Kumaratunga not to allow the LTTE to withdraw from the negotiating table.

Q: The SLFP and the JVP have been contemplating a grand alliance to defeat the UNF. Going by the media reports it is learnt that a MoU between these two parties is to be signed shortly. Firstly do you think this would be a reality and secondly do you think this would pose a threat to the UNF?

A: According to media reports they may get together soon. But there is a saying that 'history repeats itself.' I think the JVP has stretched itself to the maximum limit. They know that beyond this point they are not in a position to play the game. For the JVP it is a gamble. This happened to the LSSP as well in the 1960 elections. Both parties (SLFP and LSSP) were in a position to win only 10 seats each. Realising they could not go alone beyond that point, the LSSP joined the SLFP and the MEP the UNP. But at the end it was a disaster for both the LSSP and the MEP. But of course judging by the way the JVP is acting now, it is clear they are not going to make any strong conditions to the PA, instead focus only on the coalition without antagonising anyone. This is why we see Anura and Mangala going with the JVP. I think their strategy is to first go in for an alliance and then take the SLFP machinery into their hands.

Q: The situation in the universities has become deplorable. Especially in the recent past we saw both the students and lecturers of Sri Jayewardenepura University agitating for the removal of the vice chancellor. You were one time vice chancellor of this university. What has gone wrong?

A: The entire university system in this country unfortunately is facing one crisis after another. These crises are not due to administrative failures. Basically it is the politics within which is the cause. These should have been used for the maintaining of high standards but instead today these are used to suppress the political freedom of some sections in the university. The misuse of political freedom within the system has created this unfortunate situation in Sri Lankan universities.

Sri Jayewardenepura University has always been a hot spot for violence. In fact I don't know where the JVP was born, but the saddle for JVP has come from the Sri Jayewardenepura campus. In 1971 the JVP leader was Rohana Wijeweera and his deputy was Mahinda Wijesekara and both were involved in similar activities in this university. I can remember during the tenures of Ven. Welivitiya Soratha, Walpola Rahula, Prof. D.E. Hettiarachchi etc. who were all internationally recognised personalities, they too faced a lot of challenges. I myself faced problems but I managed to survive there for more than five years.

I don't know why this particular university is always having problems. May be because it is built on a place where during the Second World War an army camp was built. May be this is the reason for most of the students to take a liking to physical confrontation instead of verbal confrontation. I hope that in the future this campus would become a center for peaceful dialogue and debate.