President: A man of peace forced into war - Religious dignitaries

The main news in the past week was about the visit of the high powered Indian delegation for continuing consultations with Sri Lanka, the run up to the for the North Central and Sabaragamuwa provincial elections, the arrest of a key LTTE figure who had been a director of the National Film Corporation, the continuing successes of the Security Forces against the LTTE in the northern theatre of war, and the interaction between President Mahinda Rajapaksa and religious leaders at two important meetings.

On analysis, the last item has the most important impact in fashioning the developing political trends in the country, although this did not grab many headlines or political comment.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa had two meetings with religious leaders this week. The first was the meeting at the Presidential Secretariat on Tuesday (24) to handover donations amounting to Rs. 5 million for improving 42 Temples, Kovils, Churches and Mosques islandwide.

He made this the occasion to reiterate the Government’s total commitment to protect all religions and their associated sites of worship. He explained to the religious leaders that the Government would seek to establish ‘Peace Zones’ not only in the precincts of sacred sites, but also in the whole country, with the defeat of terrorism which would in fact see the entire country as one large peace zone.

He explained that every citizen land should have the freedom and the liberty to enjoy the right of religious worship, as per his conscience; a right which had been denied to the people by the terrorists of the LTTE, which had even openly targeted this right in the several attacks it carried out on places of religious worship, killing both worshippers and the clergy, too.

Demonstrating the Government’s interest in both the economic and religious development of society, President Rajapaksa said that despite the war, Government had not abandoned any mega development projects in the country, be it the expressways or the Norochcholai Coal Power Project or any other. “We will not abandon the development of the religious sacred sites too,” he said.

The meeting with the religious dignitaries at President’s House the next day saw an important exchange of views between the President and the dignitaries of the four main religions that set out a new understanding between the Government and the representatives of the main religious communities of the country.

Convergence

This was most seen on the policy towards eradicating terrorism and the need to counter the current campaign being carried out both locally an abroad to smear the name of Sri Lanka and the Rajapaksa administration, in the context of increasing signs of weakening of the LTTE’s military strength.

There was a significant convergence of views among the dignitaries present in their attitudes towards the President and the Presidency.

It was best seen in the observations by the dignitaries representing the Buddhist, Roman Catholic, Hindu and Muslim religions who were in agreement that they saw the President in the role of a father to the nation as the country faced the most crucial time both politically and economically.

Most significantly, giving voice to this sentiment were persons who are usually considered as being representative of two strongly divergent positions in the current socio-political context, namely the Ven. Maduluwawe Sobhitha Thera and the Roman Catholic Bishop of Mannar Rt. Rev. Rayappu Joseph.

This coming together of the major religious streams in their attitude to President Rajapaksa was also a pointer to their attitude towards the Presidency, in the midst of considerable efforts to build political turmoil in the country through campaigns directed against the Government having focus on the President and the Presidency.

It was most significant that the strongest endorsement of the Presidency came from the two Hindu dignitaries present who observed that as the first president to hail from Ruhuna, who had been elected with the support and trust of all communities in the country, had been evenhanded in his dealing with all sections of the people, both before his election to the presidency and after.

They saw him as a man of peace, who was committed to Sri Lanka’s unity, diversity and multi-cultural traditions.

The Hindu dignitaries summed up the thinking of the religious leadership present in stating that “even though you are a man of peace, you have been forced into circumstances you hate - that is war. We are very hopeful that you will bring lasting peace to Sri Lanka surmounting all the present obstacles,” they said.

The dignitaries present who offered their prayers for the President in his efforts to meet out justice and look after all people of Sri Lanka, made an important observation that although there is a communal clash involving ethnicity that has lasted for three decades, there has been no serious clash involving religions through all this period, other than some isolated incidents that have been successfully overcome by the Governments of the day.

They saw in this the underlying strength of the Sri Lankan society to build a more lasting unity overcoming the divisions of ethnicity.

13th Amendment

In the ensuing discussion President Rajapaksa told the dignitaries that there was no consideration of stopping the war to eradicate terrorism and restore democracy to all sections of the people and regions of the country, and that he was absolutely clear on what the Tamil people wanted, as much as he was clear on the need to defeat terrorism.

The basis for meeting the aspirations of the Tamil people had been laid in the Eastern Province, where terrorism was defeated, democracy restored and the Provincial Council elected in keeping with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.

The President agreed with the religious dignitaries that the spirit of the 13th Amendment should be upheld, which underlined the equality of all people and the need to give them the right and the power to determine affairs at the provincial level within the overall unity of the nation and the country.

There was also agreement among the dignitaries that current development made it clear that there was a well orchestrated campaign, both locally and abroad, to cause obstacles to the Government and also tarnish the image and reputation of the Government and Sri Lanka.

They urged the Government to probe these activities and take necessary action to counter this campaign that is being directed against the efforts of the Government to defeat terrorism and restore the rights of all people, and also extended their own support and that of their religious organisations, both in Sri Lanka and abroad to challenge these activities that were being directed against the best interests of the Sri Lankan people.

The religious dignitaries also expressed the prevailing dissatisfaction with the current electoral process both at parliamentary and other levels, with the people having no representatives they could identify with for local and urgent issues.

There was an agreement among them that the electoral reforms recommended by the Dinesh Gunawardena Select Committee should be implemented; to which there was an agreement by the President.

DPL Silence

He explained the difficulties of implementing immediately the parliamentary elections, but said that action would be taken to bring these recommendations into practice with regard to provincial and local government polls.

The studied diplomatic silence by both Sri Lanka and India on the two day visit of its Foreign Secretary, National Security Advisor and Defence Secretary to the country, saw some sections of the media here that seemed eager to have India make threats of intervention to stop military operations against the LTTE, make headline news of their own spin that had no backing from any responsible sources.

These media outlets were full of India’s concerns about the military operations against the LTTE and saw the visit as the expression of India’s “Big Brother” attitude towards Sri Lanka, especially on what is certainly the sensitive issue of the rights of the Tamil people.

The fact that they were groping in the dark about what actually happened in this most cordial visit where there was a frank exchange on matters of mutual interest, was seen when these media outlets that looked to a story that could be built upon for possibly weeks ahead, had to drop it in just one day with no follow-up even of their own spin.

The run up to the Elections in the NCP and Sabaragamuwa keeps attracting public interest as they see a much wider contest between the Government and the Opposition that took place in the Eastern Provincial poll last month.

The UNP has been throwing up names of people in what appears to be a kite-flying exercise to find the reactions of the people at the problems it has in selecting the chief ministerial candidates who will lead the party’s campaign in the two provinces.

Its intended nominee for Sabaragamuwa the private tuition master and writer of sorts P. B Sannasgala has already withdrawn. The two kites that are gathering most wind just now are the retired Army officer Janaka Perera who is being touted for the NCP and “One Shot” film star Ranjan Ramanayake who seems eager to come out as a politician.

Meanwhile, party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is facing many problems over his leadership has once again resorted to the Committee prescription to hopefully tide over crises by appointing such a body to look into the demands of the new group of rebels within the UNP, who are asking for nothing less than his departure from the leadership, and hopefully help the UNP make a break with its image as the constant and consistent loser in the politics of Sri Lanka.

He seems oblivious the fact that the Committee treatment only succeeds in postponing a crucial issue, whether it is in UNP politics or in any other host issue of politics in the country.

Mr. Wickremesinghe may have gained some respite to tarry abroad, possibly to lobby in foreign climes to ensure support for his leadership, and the position of his courtiers within the party.

True to form the UNP is already showing signs of its defeatist stance over the two upcoming elections, with its General Secretary Tissa Attanayake already issuing statement about the government resorting to violence to cover up its weaknesses in the two provinces that are due to poll next month.

Arrest and JVP concern

The police had a major breakthrough in its arrest of a former working director of the National Film Corporation who has had long and very close links with the LTTE.

The manner in which the police kept the impending arrest away from prying eyes both in the media and the political gossip circuit is commendable, particularly because one-upmanship in some sections of the media that lack much of necessary ethics, can be a threat to the results of good investigation, especially with regard to those with links to the LTTE and its civilian killing machine.

While the police earn kudos for this catch, this is also causing concerns in some quarters other than the LTTE, which would have every cause for bother about it. The concerns we see are from the JVP, because the suspect person had been appointed to the director’s post in the NFC during the time the JVP held portfolios in the UPFA Government of Chandrika Kumaratunga, and the minister concerned was its new Propaganda Secretary Vijitha Herath.

There is no evidence adduced so far that links the JVP knowingly to the dealings the suspect had with the LTTE; but it is certainly not the most comfortable position to be in, for a party that has been the loudest in demands for all our war to wipe out the LTTE, to be seen even by mistaken association, to be having some close contact with the most ruthless terrorist organisation in the world that threatens Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

With the police denying claims by the JVP that it had been silent on a request for police clearance of the suspect before his appointment to the NFC post, there is cause for some embarrassment for Herath, as well as the party. This is not an issue that will go down very easily as the LTTE’s suicide killings and general carnage involving civilians is the subject of immense public concern.

Vijitha Hearth’s own position in this situation is unenviable as he has replaced the charismatic Wimal Weerawansa who is making his own waves with criticism of the JVP current leadership, to which, possibly through judicious thinking, he has not brought in the alleged link between the party and this latest catch by the police. But such silence may not last long if there is more compelling evidence that does implicate the JVP or any of its leading members with this suspect, and by association the LTTE, too.

Meanwhile, Weerawansa’s National Freedom Front had another Parliamentary success with the decision of the JVP’s woman MP Anjan Umma to join its ranks increasing its membership in the House by one more.

Apart from its further decline in Parliamentary strength, what was even more of a loss of face to the JVP by this move was the exposure given to the alleged treatment of Ms. Anjan Umma by the party once they had suspicions of her alleged disenchantment with the current leadership.

The now all too familiar allegations of trying to hold on to the vehicle given to an MP by the State has come out again as well as considerable stories of its moves to carry out surveillance on a member and even trying to restrain or prevent her from coming to Parliament, as well as carry out other political work.

All this does not put the JVP in any good light about its change to a democratic political system, with more doubts being raised about the difficulty it has in breaking with the harsh Stalinist tactics that it was used to under the leadership of Rohana Wijeweera.