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by DR. P.A. SAMARAWEERA

Last week it was reported that the Mahanayake of the Asgiriya Chapter of the Siyam Nikaya, the Mahanayake of he Ramanya Nikaya and the Mahanayake of the Amerapura Nikaya wrote to the UNP leader asking him to give an explanation to the Maha Sangha and the people on the true stand of the UNP on the LTTE. They asked Mr. Wickremesinghe to divulge whether the UNP had made an agreement with the LTTE.

The deafening silence maintained by the UNP leader is disturbing. It is alleged that he had signed an agreement with the LTTE leader to hand over the North and the East with several other conditions such as deproscribing the LTTE. Thus leading to a division of the country.

During the last 7 years, Mr. Wickremesinghe was in a deep slumber. He remained on the sidelines with the hope that the Government would collapse and pave the way for him to get in through the back door. The lacklustre performance of Mr. Wickremesinghe is becoming clearer daily. To deal with an adversary like Prabhakaran, the country needs a strong, intellectually honest, courageous leader and not someone who could score cheap debating points and engage in pillow fights.

Outspokenness is a vital ingredient of public leadership. No effective leadership could be given if the leader is scared to speak his/her mind due to concern for his/her personal safety. To avoid clarifying the issues when the facts are so stark and glaring is tantamount to betrayal of public confidence. Whatever "skills" Mr. Wickremesinghe may claim to have he clearly lacks the attribute of outspokenness against LTTE terrorism.

For example, when Gamini Dissanayake and 54 other UNP stalwarts were blown up by LTTE suicide bomber on Oct 23, 1994, Mr. Wickremesinghe was elevated to the party leadership. At the funeral of Mr. Dissanayake, everyone waited to hear what the new leader had to say not only about the virtues of the dead but also about the course of action the UNP would take to see that the people behind the cruel mass murder were brought to justice.

His speech at the funeral was a great disappointment. He could have given a speech like Mark Antony did at the funeral of Julius Caesar and rallied the country against LTTE terrorism. Instead, he carefully avoided making any reference to the identity of the killers of the need to bring them to justice. Likewise when Dr. Tiruchelvam was killed by an LTTE suicide bomber, Mr. Wickremesinghe's statement was again a damper, when compared with the statement made by the President, Mrs. Chandrika Kumaratunga.

Immediately after the assassination of Dr. Tiruchelvam the President made a clear unequivocal statement condemning the LTTE for this horrible murder.

The President had the courage to expose the LTTE but not Ranil. And this is why the LTTE support a weak leader. The LTTE is Public Enemy Number One. This is accepted by the overwhelming majority of the Sri Lankan people as well as the Indians. For example on Dec, 5, 1999 the All India Anti-Terrorist Front staged a demonstration at the Sri Lankan High Commission in New Delhi and handed over a memorandum to express their solidarity with the Sri Lankan Government to eliminate terrorism. It stated, ".... We try to awaken in the minds of the Sri Lankans a solidarity with India in our heroic struggle against the various dimensions of terrorism. By far the most important thing which India expects from Sri Lanka is the handing over of LTTE supremo V. Prabhakaran to India so that the Indian government could try him in accordance with the laws of our country..."

A couple of weeks ago, the Tamil Nadu provincial government banned the hardcore Tamil Nadu Retrieval Troops and its associate Tamil Nadu Liberation Army trained by LTTE's Intelligence Chief Pottu Amman. And Canada listed the LTTE as a terrorist outfit after US tightened the screws on the Tigers by placing them on the list of terrorist organizations to be targeted for asset freezes and other penalties. But Mr, Wickremesinghe has yet to identify the LTTE as Public Enemy Number One. For him they are crusaders. Isn't this cowardliness?

More than anything else Sri Lanka needs a ruler with extra lustre, moral courage, patriotic, brave and who has the determination to match the wits of a despotic adversary like Prabhakaran. And not a weak leader like Ranil.

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