No war says Vasu
 

BY INDEEWARA Thilakarathne

LAUNCHING an offensive against the LTTE is not an option being considered by the Government which would prefer to follow a defensive strategy at present said Vasudeva Nanayakkara, the Secretary of the Democratic Left Front and Adviser to President Mahinda Rajapakse, in an interview with the Daily News. Nanayakkara is also the Chairman of the Monitoring Committee on Mahinda Chintanaya.

Q: Could you comment on the present political situation in the country?

A: This Government was elected by a popular majority and I believe the majority would have been much more had the people not been frightened away by rival political forces giving absolutely by false information about the possibility of closure of factories and loss of employment in extensive ways due to the investors going away from this country if Mahinda was to be elected.

Then there were fears instilled in the minorities that there would be racial and religious riots if Mahinda was to win.

None of these happened and many who voted against Mahinda on account of these reasons today, would decide to vote for Mahinda for which reason, I say, If you actually rekon the voting as taking place currently, Mahinda would be enjoying a larger majority than he actually had.

That is my first point and the second point is that Mahinda has presented a Manifesto called Mahinda Chintanaya and he has brought a budget consistent with it to get large-scale benefits to the poorer sections of the country and middle level of the population who have economic pressures. It has no the other hand also, contributed to increase the productive capacity of the country.

Those measures are not only welfare but also helpful to increase the country's growth. On the other hand the provisions that have been made in the budget envisages large-scale capital development which carried out would take care of all our problems.

Like the Hambantota - Ruhunu port which will become the hub of transhipments between the West and the East. We will rival the rest like Singapore, India in transhipment and bunkering and whatever that goes with transhipment. Hambantota port will be the nearest to the sea route.

Then "English to all" is another campaign that has been envisaged with a view to mainly democratise this society. There is a very sharp division in this society between those who know English and those who do not know English. It stands in the way of democratising the society.

When we achieve it we would have taken a leap forward in democratising this society principally and secondly it will be helpful in securing employment. Securing employment is a question of how much employment is available.

And how much employment is available and all knowing English put the question of unemployment at squire one.

However this will not solve the unemployment problem but this will lead to a lot of confidence among all people and all sections and give them a kind of impetus to persue further studies and development of skills in different areas and that would help them in securing employment.

Of course, this is not at the cost of Sinhalese and Tamil languages. We are not going to have English as the sanctified language. We will use English only as a means of a realising our own needs like a pair of slippers to walk over a pool of mud.

The honoured position will be occupied by Sinhalese and Tamil. So English is not taking supremacy but is serving a utilitarian purpose of our society.

With this vision and perspective , "English to all" will be carried out. Not like what it has been happening during the last twenty years; English has been gradually gaining supremacy while leaving behind a large number without the knowledge of English.

In the budget, social benefits like health, free education and poor relief have been given more money and they will be, therefore, more improve making those facilities will be easily available to the ordinary public who cannot afford private medical attention and who cannot have private vehicles and who cannot get private education.

People who have lesser income will be able to come into economic activity more confidently because they have the support of free education,free public health and public transport.

Q: How do you see the volatile political situation in the North and East?

A: The situation in the North and the East is rather fluid and there are the forces that were bent on opening the war and those who are keen to militarily defeat the LTTE and then bring the LTTE to the table of negotiation on a subjugated base.

And those who thought that the reassertion of the authority of the Sri Lankan State through the armed forces and police in the Northern and Eastern areas where they have taken a rather passive role in the last two, three years, all these have resulted in creating a situation of tension and increase conflict in the North and East.

There had been killings and counter killings between the LTTE and the anti-LTTE elements in the Eastern province over the last six months and more which has now extended even to the North.

Conflicts are going on, not between Muslims and Tamils, not between Sinhalese and Tamils but between armed groups of these respective communities who are engaged in hostile activity against one another.

So this could even go to the extent of involving the civilian population. As we have recetly witnessed that attacks on the civilian population will become an extended part of this conflict.

And this being encouraged by auxiliary forces which are helped by a section of the armed forces on the one hand and by the LTTE on the other hand. So the escalating conflict is spiralling upward but there is no support for a new war by either the Tamils people or by Sinhalese people.

Even with the support of Sinhalese and Tamils, the escalating of the conflict cannot go as far as a war. Because the International Community has disapproved it and was not anywhere near helping either party.

So therefore the parties to the conflict will ultimately be tuned to public opinion here and public opinion is against the war in all its force and the Government is being put under pressure by the aggressive elements who want to have open war declared to make that decision and the Government is cautious and stated that it can act defensively but never go into a offensive which is the last thing that it can do or will do.

That I think is a very wise decision of the President and he says going to war is the wrong thing to do and having to face the war ultimately having explored all the possibilities, like giving in as much as you can but yet had to wage a war, then you are in a very good footing to face that kind of war.

I think this message has been given to the armed forces or elements in the army and the partners in the alliance or the Government who are bent on a general offensive that the President is not likely to go along with them.

This is, indeed, a very good development which I think that India also has prevailed a lot in making this position clear.

That is finally the political combination, the UNP is now trying to offer themselves as supporters of the Government in order to take the Government within the shackles of their own policies. With that in view they are presently offering support as against the aggressive and belligerent,warmongering elements within the alliance.

On the one hand, there is pressure of the aggressive,belligerent elements in the alliance on the President and on the other hand, there is seducing or the luring of the President for an agreement with the UNP as a means of meeting this challenge.

Both of which the President has avoided and the President was neither submitting or yielded to these aggressive elements nor become victim of this cunning scheme of the UNP.

He can survive only by not being a victim and not being cunningly deceived into a arrangement of coalition with UNP but he, the President, knows that he needs the support of everybody including the UNP to avoid the war and try to come to an agreement which will strengthen the peace process.

For which he will ask the support of all section including the UNP but at no cost on his part to accept any condition from the UNP in regard to policy.

So finally, the mass movement who are oppose to the war which can be a disaster to the country as well as people and to the Government.

The Government will not be able to hold democracy and it will not be able to deliver on the promises to the People. Government will not be able to get into big capital development. So it is in the interest of the Government to avoid this war.

Now there is a widespread opinion against war among the Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims.

Q: What is your party stance on the National Question and the possible outbreak of war?

A: Our party stance is we must avoid war and try to re-initiate the peace process and that is the view of the public.

Organisations like our party , the five parties of the alliance, those sections in the UNP are not favouring the war genuinely and there is civil society and other democratic trade unions.

We must come together in order to give leadership and kind of concentrated voice to this widespread opinion of the public against the war.

Q: Can you comment on the proposed monitoring structure?

A: That has not been established yet. This is expected to happen in January. We should quicly set up this Monitoring Committee.

The prime task entrusted with the Commission will be to ensure the implementation of plans and programmes of the Government which are vital to people and to the development in general and we know that there is a Minister of Planning and Implementation and we will be working in liaison with that Ministry which will be administrating and routinely supervising implementation but we will selectively and politically intervene where necessary in order to check, push the implementation or to report and monitor and bring to the attention of the authorities the impediments or the obstacles in the way of implementation in the quality and within the time frame of the intended plans. That is the work of the Plan, Implementation and Monitoring Committee.

Q: So you can interfere in the affairs of any department and Ministry?

A: Well, at all levels. This Committee seeks information and asks reports and then finds out the causes for delays and makes recommendations on how they can be overcome and how the implementation can get on. If they are not heeded at any level, depending on what level, the authorities can put it right.

Then Presidential intervention will have to be brought upon them. This will not interfere in the process of administration.

In terms of work, we do not go and give commands to anybody but we will monitor and recommend and expose their problems in implementation.

Q; How do you analyst the present leadership crisis in the UNP?

A: UNP's present defeat will naturally go through this crisis and everybody knows now it is a Government of the Alliance for a good six years without any problem.

On account of that the UNP leaders have a problem of what is their future.They are used to being in power and how can we have the privileges of being in power while being defeated and this would give rise to all kinds of different viewpoints and how the UNP can re-emerge or re-energise and this would rise to different kinds of viewpoints to the extent of coming to very very strong divergence.

A: How do you think that divergence of views in the UNP would affects their performance at the forthcoming Local Government election?

But when it comes to the elections, the UNP will find it recouping its energy and there is a momentum which is intrinsic to in the very process of elections and therefore the candidates and aspirants will again converge as oppose to the Alliance.

Certainly the alliance will have the edge over the UNP, eventhough they have an oppotunity of re-grouping.

There are plans by the Government to give a lot of power and resources to Local Government bodies and make them responsible for much of the activities of development and servces relate to the people and community in the areas. Particulary on the basis of the old system of roads.