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| Friday, 22 October 2004 |
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Dialogue is better than stalemate : time for the UNP to rethink by Gamini Abeywardane Some effort has been made to broad base peace talks through the establishment of National Council for Peace and Reconciliation (NACPR) indicating the desire of the President to go ahead with the search for permanent peace. This is a move directed at building some consensus among a cross section of the society in preparation for resuming official peace talks that have been getting postponed day by day due to various obstacles. A debate in whatever form is better than a stalemate, which will only bring frustration to all parties concerned with peace in the country, which ultimately could increase the risk of war as a last resort. However the biggest obstacle now seems to be the conspicuous absence of the main opposition UNP and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in the NACPR. The reason they have given for this stance is the futility of such a council in the absence a clear agreement between the SLFP and the JVP. Reasons apart the effect of such abstention by the UNP could be sometimes against its own interests in the long run. Perhaps the real reason behind the UNP thinking may be different. It could even be the fear that if some consensus is built up it may give a new impetus to the President to change the presidential system depriving the UNP leader's opportunity to become the next executive President. But the UNP should not forget the fact that if the country misses this opportunity every one will have to face the consequences. UNP will have to face the same problem perhaps in a worse form a year or two later. Winning the Presidency will not place them in any better position for resolution of the national question unless they receive the blessings of the opposition party. Therefore the best thing for the country at this moment is for many political parties and interest groups to join the peace process so that some kind of consensus will automatically emerge making life easier for whichever political party that will have to tackle this problem in the future. It is this type of attitude, which smacks of insincerity, both by UNP and SLFP at different times that contributed to aggravating this problem. Complete resolution of the problem may take a few or many years, but it is the responsibility of all political parties to help initiate a dialogue. One political party may initiate the dialogue while another party may preside over a final settlement. But the fact remains that the whole country will be benefited by a final settlement. It is encouraging to note that some of the topics that were considered anathema by some political parties earlier are now being openly discussed. In the recent weeks there were some valuable academic discussions on the ISGA proposals. We need to look at each clause of such proposals carefully and analyze them and hence responsible political parties should avoid making irresponsible statements at public rallies. Public rallies may not be the best place to express opinion on vital national issues that require more careful and intellectual discussion. Gone are the days that politicians could get away by merely uttering some vague statements on sensitive issues like 'unitary state', 'federalism', 'territorial integrity', 'devolution of power' or even 'separatism'. Over the years through experience and political maturity people have changed the way they responded to these issues. If the main political parties start playing hide and seek the country will continue to suffer. The need of the hour is four us to be united specially at a time the LTTE has given up the option of war, the international community has pledged massive economic support and even Buddhist prelates have changed their stance to support the peace talks. It is now or never and missed opportunities can be gone forever. (Courtesy: Business Standard) |
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