The human rights bind

By Amantha Perera

Sri Lanka is among seriously bad company. Human rights activists are slotting the country with others like Nigeria, Burma....

More....

 > Makings of the SLFP-UNP MoU (....Pot Shots)

 > Apartment nightmare for Hospital Square residents

 > TNA appeals to UN

 > Excerpts from the Alston Report

The human rights bind

 It was Philip Alston, UN Secretary General's Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial, summary or arbitrary executions who led the call. Addressing the Third Committee of the General Assembly on October 20, Alston set aside a major portion of his speech to, in his view, the fast deteriorating human rights situation that was waiting to collapse.

On the brink of a crisis

 "Today the alarm is sounding for Sri Lanka. It is on the brink of a crisis of major proportions," he said. "The practice, however, sometimes appears to be one of an alarm followed by silence followed by disaster. The problem of course, is that when the alarm sounds, governments and others can opt to simply put in their ear plugs, hope for the best, and express surprise when disaster strikes."

He along with other UN officials have sounded the alarm since September, during the sessions of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. It was UN Human Rights Commissioner Louis Arbour who first put the subject to the Commission when she said that she supported the setting up of an interntional mission. She was followed by Alston and in between interntional watchdogs like Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Asian Centre for Human Rights have joined in with support. HRW in fact released a 53-page briefing on Sri Lanka during the week when Alston and Arbour first came out with their suggestions.

The UN Human Rights sessions commenced a month after the killing of 17 local aid workers attached to the French charity - Action Contre le Faim - that hit interntional headlines. Things were further compounded when 10 Muslims were killed in Ampara, on September 10, a little over a month after the August 4 killing of the ACF workers in Muttur.

No proper investigation

No proper investigation has been concluded on either of the two incidents and accusing fingers have been pointed at government forces in both cases. In August President Mahinda Rajapakse was in Washington to address the UN sessions, soon after his return he announced that he was inviting interntional experts to form a human rights mission. But several days after the announcement was made, the participation of the interntional experts was reduced to that of observers. If anything the calls for the mission have intensified since then, despite efforts taken by Human Rights Minister, Mahinda Samarasinghe to project an impression that there would be interntional participation in the commission.

No commission

Samarasinghe told The Sunday Leader earlier this month that the Presidential Commission to investigate human rights abuses would be set up during the first half of this month. No commission has been set up as yet and last week too the government said it was to be set up soon. He also said that the government had held discussions with interntional organisations and that they had expressed their willingness to participate in the commission. He went as far as to say that the government was waiting for the response from organisations like HRW and AI on the terms of reference.

Representatives from HRW and AI were in Sri Lanka along with a legal officer from the UN Human Rights Commission recently. However, HRW's senior legal advisor James Ross told The Sunday Leader that at no time had HRW opened any official dialogue with the government and also denied that it had been informed of the terms of reference or was considering sending an observer to the commission. Ross who had met President Rajapakse and Minister Samarasinghe separately said that HRW was pushing for international observers and nothing short of it.

Alston's thinking

Alston appeared to be thinking along the same lines. He nevertheless, acknowledged that the influence of the UN Human Rights Council was limited, "the issue was placed squarely before the Human Rights Council last month, but the signals are that any action the Council might take in November (at the next sessions) will do very little to make a difference as this tragic situation swells and threatens to reach bursting point."

He requested the General Assembly to push for the setting up of a mission, a highly unlikely scenario, given the influence of Asian countries on such issues. "My report thus urges the General Assembly to call upon the United Nations Secretariat to establish a full-fledged international human rights monitoring mission in Sri Lanka."

The Asian Centre for Human Rights suggested that the government had actively resisted moves at the council meeting to react favourably to any such request. The governemnt appeared to be hedging its bets on the commission.

Minister Samarasinghe had earlier told The Sunday Leader that there was no need  for the interntional monitors, as the local commission would be adequately empowered. Others like Defence Spokesperson, Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said that the government was not about to dance to every tune set by the international community.

But given Sri Lanka's track record on investigations and prosecutions of human rights cases, no one who was supporting the setting up of the international mission was about to believe that the local commission would be successful. "I have welcomed some of the government's recent initiatives. It would be a mistake, however, to think that the national commission of inquiry will be anywhere  near sufficient to meet the challenge. This is so even if the government undertakes, as I believe it now should, to make public all of its findings and to act affirmatively on its recommendations," Alston said.

Intl.  involvement

He has called for more vigorous international involvement in the country. "The first challenge is to acknowledge the need for significantly more sustained and high level international involvement than thus far been the case in efforts to pressure the parties to move towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict."

He believes that interntional monitors would prevent all the parties in Sri Lanka appearing to be respecting interntional human rights.

"The parties feel that they are able to violate human rights and humanitarian law without losing international legitimacy so long as they commit abuses in a manner that permits them maximum deniability. Monitoring could foreclose the strategy of deniability and push the parties to show actual respect rather that simulated respect for human rights."

The visibility that has been generated by the likes of Alston and HRW on the human rights issue has pushed it into the limelight.

"We need to start with the basic fact that there is a democratically-elected government here in Sri Lanka. A democratic government that is pledged both personally, politically and constitutionally, to the respect and defence of human rights. Therefore, that primary responsibility to respect and defend human rights is with the government. We look to the government to carry out those responsibilities.

We do believe the international community can have a role in helping - whether it is with expertise, such as the Australian forensic team that is here helping with the investigation, or whether it is with the basic monitoring mechanism to observe the situation, to encourage progress and look at where that progress could be made better - that is the kind of commission that we are trying to put together with the government. They have suggested that the UN Human Rights Commission have a role in this. They have suggested that others, including some of the Co-Chairs, have people on this commission. We see this as a group of people who have a strong interest in human rights, who know a lot about how it can be respected and pursued and therefore can observe what the government is doing; observe how the government exercises its responsibility and also look at the human rights situation throughout the island and perhaps make suggestions on how they respect for human rights observance can be improved," US Assistant Secretary of State, Richard Boucher said in Colombo.

Upkeep of HR

The upkeep of human rights was even included in the MoU signed by the SLFP and the UNP. "The United National Party reiterates its commitment to extend support to the government in the pursuit of a negotiated settlement to the on-going conflict while opposing terrorism in all its manifestations and upholding human rights," the MoU read.

Last week Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera indicated that the government might be thinking of working with the UN Human Rights Council. "As a part of this constructive engagement, the government recently consulted the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights with regard to the decision taken by President Rajapakse to invite an international independent group of eminent persons to observe the conduct of investigations and inquiries into certain alleged human rights violations by the Presidential Commission of Inquiry, which will soon be appointed.

The Government of Sri Lanka appreciates the contribution made by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in this regard and we look forward to working with OHCHR in this endeavour," he said at the UN compound in Colombo on the 61st anniversary of the UN.

Samaraweera also brought attention on the resumption of talks. "Let there be no romanticising of the LTTE, with whom we are now negotiating to find a lasting peace. Sri Lanka is not a run of the mill case of conflict resolution but one of the most complex and nuanced conflicts in the world. There are no easy answers. As such, it behoves everyone involved to keep this in mind when considering our situation."

Violations

Talks itself did kick the human rights issue back into the forefront. HRW wrote to both the government and the Tigers, and said that all parties, including the Karuna group have been violating international norms and whatever the outcome of the talks, both sides should take measures to safeguard human rights.

"Whatever the outcome of those talks, both sides can implement measures to significantly improve the protection of the civilian population. Should you so desire, we would welcome the opportunity to discuss these measures with you," HRW Asian Division Director, Bard Adams said in the letter. The week also witnessed a push to get human rights on to the agenda of the talks.

Though, the onus has been on the government, international agencies have been critical of the Tigers and the Karuna group as well.

According to Alston the proposal for the setting up of an international human rights mission first came about almost an year ago when he was in the country last December. Even then there was resistance and lack of consensus on how to set up the mission.

"It was generally understood that no domestic mechanism could respond effectively to conflict-related killings, and that remains the case today.  Most interlocutors from civil society thought that a United Nations monitoring mission would be the most effective mechanism, in light of the organisation's established expertise in human rights monitoring and lack of political involvement in the peace process.

In contrast, government officials and representatives of LTTE expressed their shared preference for strengthening the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), the body established by CFA to monitor ceasefire compliance, rather than introducing an additional monitoring mechanism focused on human rights compliance," he said in a report presented to the UN Human Rights Council last month.

Capacity of monitors

The violence that erupted from July with the closure of the Mawilaru sluice gates has however  prompted to Alston re-evaluate the capacity of the monitors.

"In April 2006, SLMM began to exhibit a greater concern with violence directed against civilians, referring for the first time to the 'extra-judicial killings of civilians.'  The creativity of the Government of Norway and the increasing assertiveness of SLMM on behalf of human rights are truly commendable; however, for reasons beyond their control, the insufficiency of SLMM to meet the need for human rights monitoring in Sri Lanka is now evident. SLMM was never going to be a perfect human rights monitoring mechanism, but today even the opportunity for it to serve as a 'second best' option may be passing," he said in the report. Ironically new SLMM Head Lars Solvberg too has come out supporting the formation of the interntional human rights mission.

"The fundamental reason for SLMM is that it exists at the mercy of the parties. At the time of writing, CFA remains in force. However, the Government or LTTE could elect to unilaterally terminate CFA at any time, thus withdrawing the mandate of SLMM. Regardless whether CFA comes to be terminated, the ability of SLMM to conduct monitoring has been gravely undermined," Alston said.

Excerpts from the Alston Report

The requirements for effective monitoring in the particular situation of Sri Lanka today:

 The details of alleged incidents, the results of investigation, and the basis for the monitoring mission's determination of responsibility should be made public (even if information is redacted to protect individuals).

 The investigative process should be designed to prioritise the protection of witnesses against intimidation and violence.

 The mandate of the monitoring mission should not be geographically limited, inasmuch as conflict-related human rights violations occur throughout the country.

 Because a key purpose of monitoring is to limit the possibility of conducting deniable human rights abuses, the monitoring mission should command a high level of investigative and forensic capacity. This requires, inter alia, persons with police training, persons with medical training, and Sinhala and Tamil interpreters.

 The monitoring mission should be independent of any peace process. Two implications of this are that: Regardless whether CFA remains in force, the monitoring mission should not be called upon to investigate violations of CFA. The distinction between violations of human rights and humanitarian law, on the one hand, and of violations of a ceasefire agreement, on the other, must be preserved. The monitoring mission should report to a neutral body.

This list should not be considered remotely comprehensive. In particular, the design of any monitoring mission must draw upon the lessons learned from past initiatives. The intention of this list is simply to highlight certain requirements for effective monitoring that are specific to Sri Lanka in light of the dynamics and logic of human rights abuse in that country. The United Nations would be well situated to establish a mission fulfilling these requirements.

The undermining of independent oversight bodies: While my report was critical of the government's near-complete failure to prosecute or even discipline members of the security forces who commit extra-judicial executions, I credited the government with taking an important step towards accountability by constitutionally guaranteeing the independence of key oversight bodies, including the National Human Rights Commission (HRC) and the National Police Commission (NPC).

I reported that, however, the constitutionally granted authority of NPC to reform the police force had already been challenged by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and that NPC had received relatively little support from other political actors in this turf war. I noted that, "While most members of civil society and government that I talked with had favourable impressions of NPC's efforts thus far, some also feared that, in struggling to insulate the police from politics, it would fall victim to politics itself." Since my visit, HRC and NPC have both fallen victim to politics.

The very concept of a body designed to oversee the conduct of the executive branch of government is that it be independent of that branch. The mechanism for appointments to HRC and NPC laid out in the 17th Amendment to the Constitution was designed to ensure such independence. Under its provisions, there are two stages of appointments.

First, various political actors, including parties in opposition, are permitted to select members of the Constitutional Council. The Constitutional Council, in turn, selects the members of various bodies, including HRC and NPC.

The Constitutional Council has not operated since a controversy over who has the authority to select one of its members erupted in March 2005. When the terms of the commissioners of NPC and HRC ended, in November 2005 and April 2006, respectively, those bodies became defunct. The President has subsequently selected and appointed individuals to HRC and NPC, circumventing the procedure specified by the 17th Amendment.

Numerous domestic actors have argued that for the Constitutional Council to carry out its duties despite the failure to appoint one of its members would comply with the constitutional procedure. It is not, however, my place to try to resolve a domestic constitutional crisis.

But it does seem essential to stress the incompatibility of the current 'solution' with international standards. There is no worse means by which to ensure an oversight body's independence from the executive than for the executive to directly appoint its members.

Similarly, the appointment of a Cabinet-level Minister for Disaster Management and Human Rights cannot, despite some clear achievements on the part of the Minister, be considered to substitute for independent human rights oversight.

Source - Interim report on the worldwide situation in regard to extra-judicial, summary or arbitrary executions submitted by Philip Alston, Special Rapporteur, September 6, 2006.

Apartment nightmare for Hospital Square residents

By Dilrukshi Handunnetti, Arthur Wamanan and Nirmala Kannangara A nine storeyed high-rise apartment complex that is coming up in De Saram Place, Colombo 10, within a strict silence zone is posing a serious threat to some of the existing buildings in the neighbourhood as continued vibrations due to construction work has resulted in some houses getting cracked. What is worse, the construction work is continuing in stark violation of municipal guidelines.

The rising luxury apartment complex (inset) Document indicating CMC instructions and (left) cracks on the wall of a nearby house

The new luxury condominiums coming up at 207, De Saram Place at Hospital Square are causing several problems to longstanding residents. For starters, some houses have cracked, potholes have increased down the road in addition to the immense pollution caused, affecting patients who are convalescing or undergoing treatment at the Colombo National Hospital. Not to mention the noise pollution and the traffic snarl, which are byproducts of the construction.

Guidelines violated

The construction work commenced in late 2004 by R & R Property Developers, but the work continues in violation of the guidelines stipulated.

The entire neighbourhood, according to some warded patients at the Colombo National Hospital is affected by the property developers' construction work. The condominiums are coming up just a few meters away from the country's premier hospital.  The hospital authorities, when contacted were not at all happy with the construction, claiming that the patients found it extremely disturbing, besides the additional generation of noise and air pollution.

And those who live in the vicinity have their own homes cracking up. These are residents who have lived down De Saram place for generations. They love the tranquility afforded, except for the hustle and bustle near Hospital Square.

In April this year, Director, City Planning, CMC suspended the license of R & R property Developers due to their failure to compensate those affected by the construction work.

The CMC ordered the repairing of one  resident Ratnayake's house to his complete satisfaction. Besides, it was taken into account that the neighbouring premises affected by the adhoc constructions included the Pakistan High Commissioner's office at No 211, De Saram Place, Colombo 10, and reputed Dr. Walgampaya's property, which is located two buildings away from the construction site.

When The Sunday Leader team visited the threatened houses, for that's what they are, not only were some of the houses cracked, the onslaught of rains had filled some houses with considerable water.

One resident whose walls show severe cracks told The Sunday Leader that their lives were also at stake. Recounting a recent experience, he said that a heavy iron rod had fallen from the ninth floor of the condominiums under construction, straight on to a bed in his house. He said the rod pierced through the roof and the ceiling. "I was sitting on a nearby chair, watching TV when the iron rod fell in. If I was on bed, I would have sustained severe head injuries," he claimed, adding that their once peaceful existence has been severely altered by the construction work. "We are not angry about luxury apartments being built, but there should be some basic adherence to rules and regulations, as well as respect for the residents," he added.

Cracked walls

Another resident, on the basis of anonymity, showed his own home with cracked walls. He said that the residents lived in perpetual fear that one of these days, their homes would collapse, due to the vibration caused by the construction machinery that is consistently in use.

"As they dig the earth more, our foundations have begun to get affected and sliding has started to occur.Nobody cares about the threat to existing homes," another complained.

Besides the wall cracking experiences, they also cannot have a good night's rest, residents moan. "We have been deprived of proper sleep for the past two years, as a result of continued noise caused by the ongoing construction work. They work past midnight and various noises reach our ears in the night. We have no rest, particularly those who are old and sick," one resident claimed.

They also fear for their health, given the fact that they suspect more and more people are now suffering from throat and lung inflammation, possibly owing to the high level of pollution in the area. To support the claim, the residents also showed two manholes clogged with residual cement and sand mixture from the construction site. 

When contacted Director, R R Property Developers, A.G. Weerasinghe told The Sunday Leader that although the City Planning Division (CPD) of the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) has so far not renewed their development permit, the developers had to complete their construction once neighbours were duly compensated a few months ago.

No response

"Since the permit expired on June 1 this year, we had to cease construction work. We duly compensated the neighbours as required and applied for the renewal of license last month. We are yet to receive a positive response from the CPD," he said.

Weerasinghe added that the company has invested a thumping Rs.300 million on the condominium project and could not afford to wait. "But we have targets to meet and have fulfilled our obligation by compensating the affected residents. We were compelled to restart work sans the license. We are prepared to face any consequence for carrying out the construction work, without renewal of the license," a bold Weerasinghe declared.

According to Weerasinghe the Board of Investment (BOI) was pressurising the constructors to finish off the work, and some leading politicians in the government too have requested them to go ahead with the construction, as they wanted to attend the opening ceremony at the earliest.

Final warning

On April 7, 2005, Medical Officer of Health, District 3 of the CMC (ref. PH/ D3/ KW/ 05/ 32) had issued final warning to the same constructors to refrain from three practices, which if continued, would result in litigation.  Under these guidelines, the CMC has instructed R & R Developers to refrain from continuing construction work after 7 pm, and to continue work in a manner that does not adversely affect the residents' collective health.

Also, though it was required that there is no air pollution caused by the dust generated within the site and specifically to cover the area under construction with a tent cover, which would also cover the wall of house No 205, these instructions were observed in the breach.

When The Sunday Leader queried Weerasinghe why the construction area was not covered as specified, the response was that construction sites in the city never cover the areas completely, whereas they at least covered the place with jute bags! "Although we were asked to cover with canvass sheets, we did cover with jute bags to which the CMC Public Health Inspectors signified approval," added Weerasinghe.

Says govt. using humanitarian crisis as tool of war

TNA appeals to UN

The TNA in it's appeal to the UN further said that the refusal of GOSL to open the A9, the only land route that links the Jaffna peninsula with the rest of the island, and the blocking of aid into Vaharai where thousands of Tamil IDPs from Trincomalee are stranded, 'amply demonstrated,' that the GOSL was using the humanitarian crisis as a tool of war.

Excerpts of the appeal  follow:

We write to you as the elected representatives of the Tamil people of the northeast, the areas of historical habitation of the Tamil speaking people.  22 out of the 23 Tamil members elected to parliament at the last general elections on the basis of the votes cast in the northeast are from our party.  Amid the humanitarian crisis gripping much of the northeast, we wish to bring the following matters to your notice as being of utmost urgency.

Disregard for civilians in government military operations

The military operations by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) armed forces in the northeastern region in Sri Lanka, have been conducted with callous disregard for the safety and the security of Tamil civilian life and property.

The number of Tamil speaking civilians killed thus far this year by such GOSL military operations exceeds 1000, and the number of Tamil civilians grievously injured, mostly maimed exceeds 4000 since December 2005, according to local human rights groups and bodies.

Civilian property comprising houses, vehicles, livestock, plantations and personal belongings have been totally destroyed in areas where there have  been attacks by the GOSL armed forces. The GOSL has executed a 'scorched earth' policy, which due to its immense destruction deter civilians from returning to their habitations.

Thus far around 250,000 persons have been internally displaced, and over 12,000 Tamil persons have fled across the seas to South India as a result of the present conflict. This is in addition to the nearly 800,000 people who continue to be displaced both internally and abroad as a result of the earlier phases of the conflict and the tsunami.

The present military operations by the GOSL have been conducted indiscriminately in Tamil civilian populated areas by intensive aerial bombardments, heavy artillery fire and shelling, both from land and sea, frequently conducted in concert. The plight of the Tamil civilian population has been of no concern to the GOSL, despite repeated pleas by our party and civil society organisations.

It is our humble submission that the manner in which the GOSL has been conducting military operations demonstrates the intent to inflict maximum harm on the Tamil civilian population. This has been despite the several warnings issued in recent times by various sections of the international community to the GOSL to ensure the  safety of the Tamil speaking civilian population. The government has acted in total disregard of the concerns expressed by the international community and the pleas of the Tamil people.

The manner in which the GOSL has conducted its military operations in Tamil speaking northeastern region has thus been in violation of International Humanitarian Law and in flagrant contravention of the Geneva  Convention pertaining to the need to ensure the safety of the civilian population in the course of military operations.

Extra judicial killings, their consequences and government indifference

Many Tamil individuals, including a parliamentarian, ex parliamentarians, members of the clergy, leading businessmen, journalists, civil society activists, aid workers employed by nternational and domestic non governmental organisations, students / children, civilians seeking refuge in places of worship and other civilians have been targeted and killed by members of the GOSL armed forces and military-backed paramilitary groups. The objective of attacks on political leaders, religious leaders, journalists and civil society activists is undoubtedly to terrorise and silence such persons and thereby both prevent the exposure of serious human rights abuses and deter participation in legitimate politics. In regard to extra judicial killings, the GOSL is either unwilling or unable to reign in its armed forces and paramilitary groups. A number of Tamil females have been raped by members of the GOSL armed forces.

It is our submission that the Tamil civilian population is subject to such severe intimidation by the GOSL armed forces as to fear that their lives will be in danger if they remained in Sri Lanka. The aim of the GOSL clearly is to terrorise and subjugate the Tamil population in Sri Lanka.

Despite prompt representations made by us to government at the highest level there has not been a single instance of the perpetrators of human rights abuses being brought to justice. This is the strongest indication of the GOSL's complicity in the individual extra judicial killings. The GOSL  armed forces have acted with utmost impunity and with the fullest awareness that they have a free licence from the GOSL to act as they wish against the Tamils. The deliberate killing of individual Tamil civilians is a continuing phenomenon.

This is particularly manifest in the predominantly Tamil speaking Trincomalee District where the Tamil civilian population is being specially targeted by the GOSL armed forces and where a large number of substantial Tamil business establishments are being destroyed with the support of the GOSL armed forces. We submit that the GOSL is engaged in a deliberate policy to drive the Tamil civilian population out of the Trincomalee District.

Though specific representations in regard to the Tamil civilians in Trincomalee have been made to the President of Sri Lanka, such attacks are continuing. It is not a coincidence that a retired military official has been posted as Government Agent to the Trincomalee District. This is the first instance of such an appointment, and has been done to ruthlessly pursue anti Tamil policies in the Trincomalee District.

The GOSL armed forces are over 99% Sinhalese, and are openly hostile to the Tamil people. The Tamil people look upon the GOSL armed forced as an army of occupation and have every reason to fear that the massacre of Tamil civilians, which has been a part of the conflict since the outset, will recur. The police forces which are over 95% Sinhala do not take steps to protect the Tamils or investigate any crimes committed against Tamils when security forces, including the police themselves, are suspect.

Blocking of international non governmental organisations (INGO)

INGOs are being prevented by the GOSL armed forces from taking relief to the affected Tamil people in the northeastern region. In some instances workers and vehicles of such organisations have come under attack by security forces and associated paramilitaries. The attacks on INGOs and the use of official bureaucratic obstructions to deny them the freedom of movement in the northeast to provide relief to the affected Tamil people is aimed at depriving the latter of much needed humanitarian assistance. The GOSL's objective is also to compel the INGOs to leave which will render the affected Tamil people destitute and compel them to submit to GOSL's terms of rule.

Some INGO workers have been refused extensions of visas and work permits, without explanation or accusations of acting against 'national security.' Unable to tolerate the harassment of the GOSL armed forces, some INGOs are contemplating withdrawing from Sri Lanka. It is clear that the GOSL is using the humanitarian crisis as a tool of war. This intent of the GOSL is amply demonstrated by the refusal to allow the A9 highway (the only land route that links the Jaffna peninsula with the rest of Sri Lanka) to be opened, and the blocking of aid into the Vaharai area in the Batticaloa District.

It is our submission that the GOSL's plan is to progressively exclude the international community, diminish its involvement in Sri Lanka and, in particular, its ability to witness the curtailment of humanitarian and human rights abuses and ensure their eventual withdrawal, so as to be able to unleash, unfettered indiscriminate, even genocidal attacks against the Tamil people.

Find below a district wise summary of the human rights and humanitarian situation that is currently prevalent in the northeast. 

Makings of the SLFP-UNP MoU

After a long and arduous journey, the SLFP and the UNP last week signed an MoU, which would indeed go down in the annals of Sri Lanka's political history as a watershed. However, the path to signing the MoU was not easy and the past few days have been very decisive for UNP and Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. The reason being the hidden agenda followed by several senior UNP members and several government officials following President Mahinda Rajapakse's first invitation to the UNP to join hands with him.

Details kept secret

Although details of the agenda remained a closely guarded secret, today it has become public knowledge. According to the secret agenda, the invitation extended by the President was expected to create a split within the UNP due to the crossing over of several UNP members to government ranks and the final outcome being the ouster of Wickremesinghe as leader of the UNP and the opposition.

The agenda was initially known by UNP Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya andG.L. Peiris. On the government side, it was Basil Rajapakse and several other presidential secretaries who were aware of the secret agenda. According to the plan, the President was expected to send a letter inviting the UNP to join the government addressed to Jayasuriya as soon as Wickremesinghe left the country.

Hidden message

The underlying message in this move was that Wickremesinghe was no longer accepted as the party leader and that UNP MPs aspiring to hold portfolios in the government had to join forces with Jayasuriya. The letter was also expected to anger Wickremesinghe who was expected either to ignore the invitation or to attack the President publicly upon hearing of it. All this was expected to marginalise Wickremesinghe in the party.

Wickremesinghe, on the other hand, who has successfully overcome many coups planned against him within the party, managed to surprise everyone through his actions. He responded by saying that he was willing to arrive at a consensus with the government for the sake of the country. That was the making behind the historic agreement.

More conspiracies

Be that as it may, the conspiracies did not stop there. Wickremesinghe appointed a delegation from the UNP headed by Jayasuriya to hold discussions with the SLFP, but several members of the delegation went on to pursue their initial secret agenda.

Their intensions were to create a rift within the UNP and oust Wickremesinghe as party leader and then join the government by accepting several portfolios. At no point did the national interest play a role in their agenda.

At the end of the discussions between the SLFP and the UNP delegations, Wickremesinghe requested for an appointment with Rajapakse to further discuss the issues faced by the country. Although a request made by the Opposition Leader for an appointment with the President has never been rejected, this time around, the players working on a hidden agenda ensured that such an appointment was not granted.

Peiris called Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake and Basil and asked them not to grant an appointment for the Opposition Leader to meet the President alone. Instead they asked the President to send an invitation to the UNP delegation that met with the SLFP for a discussion with him.

Tacit approval

It is not known whether Peiris had Jayasuriya's blessings for this move but the fact that the Deputy Leader has not distanced himself from Peiris has led to the belief that there was at least tacit approval.

The President did just that. Wickremesinghe although shocked by the President's move responded saying that he would attend the discussion with Jayasuriya. Hearing of Wickremesinghe's response, the plottersdecided to attend the meeting at Temple Trees, uninvited.

The Opposition Leader however, who has much experience in state protocol discussed matters alone with the President for 22 minutes. Wickremesinghe from this point decided to cast aside Jayasuriya, and drew Rukman Senanayake close to him. From then on Wickremesinghe met with Rajapakse either alone or with Senanayake. Italso appeareda clear signal to Jayasuriya he was no longer trusted. It was from that point that the true makings of the country's historical agreement commenced.

Rajapakse for his part decided to cast aside the misleading information fed by most of his confidants and decided to base his decision on the best interests of the country.

The two leaders thereafter held discussions on several issues and decided to amend several issues the parties were to agree upon. During the discussions, the President was to tell Wickremesinghe, "Ranil, do you have a problem trusting me? Do you feel that I'm playing a game to destroy you? If you have any such idea, please cast it aside. Many have advised me on it, but I will not listen to them."

"That is the biggest question I also have. Mahinda, do you feel that I'm trying to pull the rug from under your feet? Trust me. Don't allow people to achieve their personal agendas. I have agreed to this MoU due to my sincere feelings for the country," responded Wickremesinghe. The two leaders discussed many such issues during their meetings. The President also inquired into Wickremesinghe's sentiments on the acceptance of portfolios after the signing of the MoU.

Wrong impression

Wickremesinghe observed that although several UNP MPs were keen on accepting portfolios due to several factors including age and financial issues, accepting portfolios after signing the MoU would give the country the wrong impression about the alliance. He said that signing an MoU without accepting any portfolios would make the people have faith in the two parties.

Wickremesinghe went on to say that after signing the MoU and working out a mechanism to implement it, the acceptance of portfolios could be discussed as the second phase.

"I accept your point. People will then cast aside the wrong impressions they have about this alliance. But the problem is that several UNP MPs are requesting for portfolios. Some of them have been assured portfolios by our people. So try to do something about them," the President said.

Jayasuriya, Peiris and several other UNPers could not bear this relationship that was being built between Wickremesinghe and Rajapakse. Jayasuriya found fault with Wickremesinghe for having dealings with Senanayake, but the UNP Leader had no other option.

Karu unhappy

The day before the signing of the MoU, Wickremesinghe met with Rajapakse alone and Jayasuriya became one of the topics discussed at the meeting. "There is a small problem. Karu is a little unhappy. No matter what he does against me, he is the Deputy Leader of the party. I'm not sure if he will attend the function because he seems a little upset over the whole issue. I will speak to him, Mahinda why won't you also call and ask him to come tomorrow. Karu might feel a little better then," Wickremesinghe said.

Rajapakse responded by saying, "No problem, I will call Karu. No matter his differences, he too worked hard to sign this MoU." Soon after Wickremesinghe left Temple Trees, it was Senanayake who met with the President with drafts of the MoU to be signed the following day. The President discussed Jayasuriya with Senanayake as well.

"Rukman, why is Karu unhappy? You also speak to him, I think that will be the best. Call him and ask him to attend the ceremony to sign the MoU. Ranil asked me to speak to Karu as well and I too plan to speak to him," Rajapakse said. It was Wickremesinghe who spoke to Jayasuriya first. Wickremesinghe tried to explain to Jayasuriya, details of the agreement.

Karu's response

Jayasuriya's response however was not too pleasing. "You continue with the whole process with Rukman. You have given prominence to Malik (Samarawickrama) and Rukman. I'm not informed of anything," he said. Wickremesinghe whogave a patient ear to the man decided to tactfully respond before ending the conversation. The next to call was the President. "Why do you sound upset Karu? You have to attend the ceremony tomorrow," Rajapakse said. "No sir, I'm not upset. It is just that Ranil, Rukman and co. don't tell me anything that is happening. They are handling everything alone. That is why I'm upset," Jayasuriya said.

"Karu, don't get upset, that is politics. You played a game on Ranil and now he is doing the same to you. Although you have lost your game, attend the ceremony tomorrow and hide your disappointment. I asked Rukman also to call you," the President said. "Ok sir, I will come tomorrow," Jayasuriya responded. 

Karu's prime ministerial stakes

The historic agreement between the UNP and SLFP was signed on October 23. The signing of the agreement was scheduled for 12.10 p.m. The President summoned an emergency cabinet meeting before that to obtain approval for the signing of the MoU.

The MoU was finalised by then and the only thing remaining to be done was to sign it. A jubilant President addressed the cabinet meeting at Temple Trees that day. "I speak to you as the President of close to 90 odd percent of the country's people," he said. "This is a historic event. Most people in the country have looked forward for the two parties to get together to solve the issues faced by the country. Today, we will lay the foundation to it. The duty and the responsibility of both parties is to protect this agreement and take it forward. The joining of the two main parties has been attempted by many leaders in the past, so it is not a new attempt," the President said.

Sensitive subject

Rajapakse then touched on an issue that troubled many in cabinet. "Why, there was once an occasion where the former President once summoned Karu Jayasuriya at a time when Ranil Wickremesinghe was abroad and offered him the prime ministerial portfolio," he said. Anura Bandaranaike who was upset upon hearing his sister's name being dragged into the meeting quickly said, "No, she never promised to give the premiership. That is a lie."

The President immediately responded: "What do you know? Ask about it from Mr. Prime Minister here. Because she wanted to give the post to Jayasuriya, she summoned him (Wickremanayake) and asked him to step down from the post."

Rajapakse then turned to Wickremana-yake and said, "Mr. Prime Minister, they would not believe what I say, why won't you say what happened." "Yes, it is true and I agreed to sacrifice my position for the sake of the country. She wanted to appoint Karu as the prime minister and form a government," Wickremanayake said and the cabinet of ministers fell silent. Bandaranaike had no option but to look down.

Several attempts

"As far as I know, President Kumaratunga tried several times to appoint Karu as the prime minister when Ranil was there as she wanted to form a government with the UNP. This was done when seniors like us were in the party," the President said.

However, Rajapakse stopped at that and continued to discuss details of the MoU. The President then invited all the ministers to attend the ceremony to sign the MoU. Although the ministers then made their way to the hall where the MoU was being signed at Temple Trees, Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle walked away from Temple Trees saying, "I do not want tobeaparty to these agreements."

The Bandaranaikes that haunt Rajapakse

The signing ceremony of the SLFP-UNP MoU was not without its moments as well. The ceremony was attended by government ministers as well as UNP parliamentarians. UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe arrived with several senior party membersincluding Gamini Jayawickrema Perera, Sajith Premadasa, Neomal Perera, RaviKarunanayake, Malik Samarawickramaand several others.

They arrived at Temple Trees in a convoy of vehicles. The signing of the MoU was done at an auspicious time. Soon after signing the MoU, Wickremesinghe made his way to President Mahinda Rajapakse and cracked a joke.

"Mahinda Banda"

The joke was a slip made by veteran actor Ravindra Randeniya who was also thecompere at the event. While addressing the President, Randeniya had referred to the President as "Mahinda Banda." Wickremesinghe told Rajapakse, "No matter what you say, the Bandaranaikes are still haunting you." Speaker W. J. M. Lokubandara also joined in the conversation. "There is some truth in what Ranil says. Even I feel that the shadow is behind me," Rajapakse said and the trio laughed aloud.

The President proposed that the joke should be repeated to Minister Anura Bandaranaike. Wickremesinghe and Rajapakse repeated the joke to Bandaranaike and he too laughed and said that it would not be easy to wipe away the Bandaranaikes from Sri Lankan politics. Bandaranaike's response also sent a mild message to Rajapakse. After the ceremony, instead of the usual kiribath, kavun and kokis, the guests were treated to a grand lunch.

Boycott

The Opposition Leader was invited to attend the lunch and Wickremesinghe and Rajapakse sat together at the head table. UNP Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya, after his failed manoeuvreagainst Wickremesinghe, was in a sulk throughout the ceremony. His confidants, G. L. Peiris, Milinda Moragoda, Mohomed Maharoof and Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena decided to leave Temple Trees without attending the lunch. Wickremesinghe and Rajapakse were engaged in friendly chatter at the lunch table. "Mahinda, we will now have to pay special attention to our security. Before doing anything, we both have to first be safe," Wickremesinghe said.

Rajapakse also agreed. "The LTTE is anyway after me, but according to information I have received, Ranil you too will have to be more conscious of your security," Rajapakse said. He also said the LTTE was unhappy with Wickremesinghe over Karuna's defection. The President informed Wickremesinghe to inform him immediately if there was anything he needed with regard to security. Wickremesinghe observed that irrespective of the security, if one was engaged in a lot of traveling, then the enemy would somehow find a target. The duo agreed on minimising their traveling.

Saboteurs at work

However, it took only a few hours for certain sections in the UNP to begin work at breaking the historic MoU. It is reliably learnt that the UNP MPs who lost their dreams of securing cabinet portfolios are now planning their next coup against Wickremesinghe.

This time around, it will be done differently. The slogan that would be put forward would be that Wickremesinghe betrayed the party. They are to carry out a campaign saying that Wickremesinghe reduced the number of core issues agreed by the two parties from six to three without the approval of the party's working committee. The group is to agitate saying that the UNP has gained nothing from the MoU and also call for an emergency working committee meeting.

The main aimof this group is to oust Wickremesinghe as party leader, renege on the agreement the party arrived at with the SLFP and to join the government by accepting four or five cabinet portfolios.

President, Fowzie clash in cabinet

Following the signing of the historic MoU, the cabinet as usual met last Wednesday night at Temple Trees.

During the weekly cabinet meeting a political bomb that was put in place the day before exploded. The ball was set in motion during a meeting President Mahinda Rajapakse chairedof the National Security Council. During the meeting, the President directed a question at Petroleum and Petroleum Resources Minister A. H. M. Fowzie's son Nouzer Fowzie on why the security forces camps in the north were not receiving fuel on time. Nouzer immediately responded by saying that the CPC does not delay in distributing fuel as indicated by the President. He said that the distribution process goes on without any interference.

Angry President

He assured the President that he would look into the matter and reportback immediately. The weekly cabinet meeting took place the day after. A visibly angry President directed a question at Minister Fowzie during the meeting. The President asked Fowzie if he was planning to remove the chairman of the Sri Lanka Transport Board, Tudor Dayaratne.

"Mr. President, he does not do the work he is supposed to. He cannot keep pace with me. I don't like to work with such people," Fowzie said. The President then asked whom he was planning on appointing to the post. "I'm thinking of bringing Ramal Siriwardena," he said. The President was puzzled by Fowzie's response and asked, "Ramal is a UNPer. He cannot be appointed to the post," Rajapakse said. Fowzie's immediate response was a question to the President. He inquired from Rajapakse if Dayaratne was one of the President's men.

"No he is not one of my men. He is Chandrika's, but Tudor is a SLFPer. If you appoint Ramal to the position now, people will say that it was made in line with the agreement we have signed with the UNP. Our supporters will feel that we are trying to give positions to the UNP and they might not be too pleased about it. So don't make this appointment," the President said.

Fowzie hits back

Fowzie however, was not willing to accept the President's explanation. He started to speak of his right to make independent decisions. "That cannot be done. I'm the minister holding the portfolio. Appointments in my ministries should be made by me and people whom I want to. Please do not interfere with the work in my ministry. Besides when the ministries don't function properly, people find fault with the minister. I too will have to face that problem," Fowzie said.

The President shot back, "I don't know if these ministers work or not, but to my knowledge, most don't work today. I'm not sure even of your work. People in the north are yet to receive fuel," he said.

Understanding the allegation leveled against him by the President, Fowzie responded by saying that he had no time to respond to such questions that have been formed as a result of misleading information. "The CPC has provided all the barrels of fuel requested by the navy. They now have a problem with transportation. You will have to solve that by speaking to the navy commander. But please give the ministers the freedom to do their work. You are now interfering too much in our work, but I'm not ready to give into it," Fowzie said.

"Don't order me around"

This response drew the President's ire. "You cannot work as you please in this government. The government must function according to my wishes. Don't come to order me around. The people will tell if work has been done in the ministries," the President said. Adamant to fight back, Fowzie decided to respond as well.

"You are speaking in this manner because you are misled by some people. But I'm not ready to work according to what you say following the misleading things people tell you. I'm a man with a backbone. This portfolio is not something great to me. If I'm not allowed to do my work, then I will resign and go home. I can live perfectly with the ordinary people," he said.

The President was further angered by this comment and unable to cope, Rajapakse took several files on the table and slammed them. "If you want to resign, you can resign. I'm not afraid of these threats. Give your letter of resignation without saying it. I will accept it and appoint someone else. Don't think you can get things done by threatening me," the President said.

Futile attempts

Minister Mangala Samaraweera and several others who realised the President's anger went near him and asked him to calm down. Their efforts however were in vain.

Finally, Samaraweera and several others had to escort the President out of the hall. Fowzie also stood to leave the room, after telling his cabinet colleagues, "I'm not a man to be afraid of such threats."

Minister John Seneviratne and several others tried to bring Fowzie back to the meeting, but he refused and left Temple Trees. This was the first time a cabinet meeting has turned so ugly in the country's political history. All attention has now been focused on finding out what actually made the Presidentoppose Fowzie. However, one thing is clear and that is the fact that last week's cabinet meeting has formed the base for a political split in the making.

Things can change overnight

With the country at war and the people in a state of despondency, we at The Sunday Leader want to put a smile on your faces and hold out some hope that things will not remain the same and that they can change overnight. In keeping with the widely held view that nothing is permanent, we continue our series of satirical graphics, titled ‘Things can change overnight.’