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Brevity not the soul of Presidential letters - Interior Minister

Interior Minister John Amaratunga sending a single page reply yesterday to a lengthy 7 page letter written to him by President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga on March 22 says "Brevity may be the soul of wit, but I am afraid, not of Presidential letters!".

Minister Amaratunga also says that his decision not to call out the Armed Forces on the day of the local government election has been indicated since it is the least silent election since 1994.

He also reminds the President that had the Election Commissioner been in place, Presidents' fears would have been dealt with by an independent non-political body.

The letter:

Your Excellency

Armed Forces for the Local Government Elections - March 2002

Brevity may be the soul of wit, but I am afraid, not of Presidential letters! I refer to Your Excellency's 7 page letter of 22nd March received in this office today, at 11.30 a.m. It was in reply to my letter of 18th March, where I shared with Your Excellency reasons as to why there was no need to deploy the Armed Forces to oversee the Local Government Elections. This was requested by Your Excellency's letter of 17th March.

Because of your strong recommendation and the need to build consensual governance arrangements, I suggested in humility, that the opinion of the Attorney-General and the Minister of Defence be obtained. This suggestion was not considered.

Elections are an important aspect of governance. They are entirely a civil matter, the security aspects to be managed by a civilian police. Our government has given a fundamental undertaking for demilitarization. The Armed Forces should only be called out when there is a major threat to the State and with the advice of the law authorities. In my judgement, - may I remind Your Excellency that I have over 25 years of maturing political experience with cabinet positions held in two governments - there was no such need. Judgement requires finesse and balance. My judgement has been vindicated by the least violent election held since 1994, and there was no curfew required.

Your letter had waxed on non-issues, the 1977 - 1994 period, personal abuse about my capabilities, a belittling of a hardworking police who are trying to fulfil a demanding task in difficult circumstances. A trained restraint would not come amiss.

The UNP government, committed to good governance has tried raced to activate the 17th Amendment. It is not operational purely because of Your Excellency's unhelpful attitude. If the Election Commission had been in place the fears expressed would have been dealt by an independent non--political body.

May I hope that Hegel's lament, that wisdom, as symbolized by the Owl of Minerva, comes only in the evening, does not prove true.

Yours sincerely,

John A. E. Amaratunga

Minister of Interior

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