A blind administrationand the JVP fear factor

CJ says the present administration is blind Jeyaraj blames judiciary for murder and mayhem President hints he will take on the Supreme Court
MR asks APRC to adopt 13th Amendment as its proposal APRC refuses to play ball and decides to submit report on Jan. 23 President says govt. will fall if APRC submits its proposals With the security environment in the country nosediving following the government's decision to withdraw from the Ceasefire Agreement, President Mahinda Rajapakse looked for a scapegoat in the form of the Supreme Court while the political process itself succumbed last week after the APRC was force-fed the 13th Amendment by the Chief Executive.
That violence was going to intensify in the new year and more so after the government decided to withdraw from the CFA was plain to see, given the increasingly strident claims made by militarists both in the south and the north and it came to be in all its fury last week, even as battles raged in the north setting the stage for bloody weeks ahead.

A matter of time

The government always knew given the intensity of the aerial bombardments and the offensives launched in the north, it was a matter of time before the LTTE brought the war to the south, and how it planned to meet such a threat was by inundating the city with barricades, check points and random search and arrest operations rather than acting on specific intelligence reports. That naturally led to curtailment of civil liberties and human rights violations which the government was by now virtually anesthetised to.
But none dared to speak out for fear of being labelled a traitor or a LTTE agent and all the public could do was grin and bear until the Supreme Court finally stepped in and called for the withdrawal of permanent check points which infringed on the people's freedom of movement.
It was pertinent to note in the context of the Supreme Court order that the police by their own admission had agreed no bombs were ever detected at such checkpoints with Chief Justice Sarath Silva making the point, no person with a bomb would patiently wait in a queue to be checked.

Rounding up Tamils

Checkpoints apart, the state apparatus also proceeded to round up Tamils by their hundreds in random search operations and transported them to camps such as Boossa prompting a minister no less in the form of CWC Leader Arumugam Thondaman to challenge the issue in the Supreme Court and once again the Chief Justice rose to the challenge and gave specific directions on such arrests and guidelines for search operations.
Despite such developments there was only an uneasy calm in the south with the international community too not pushing too many buttons considering the government's public refusal before the budget to withdraw from the CFA despite a call by the JVP.
Though the CFA was confined to mere paper that at least to the world at large held out some hope there could be a return to the peace process at some point and as such did not want to unnecessarily rock the government's boat and put it on the defensive, much to the LTTE's chagrin.
But by this time, the government had entered into a secret agreement with the JVP to withdraw from the CFA in exchange for their support at the budget and that promise the President kept on January 2 leading to international outrage and no doubt jubilation of the LTTE.
By that single act, the government signalled the gloves were off and even as the international community warned of an escalation in violence which would seriously impact on civilians, the fireworks commenced with one minister and several civilians paying with their lives.
Little sympathy for the government
And mind you, while the world would no doubt condemn any terror attacks, there will be very little sympathy for the government with the thinking being that it created the conditions for such chaos and mayhem by casting away even any pretensions of commitment to a negotiated settlement with the CFA's abrogation.
Having committed the folly to appease the JVP, the government also realised any escalation of violence affecting civilians in the south would be blamed on the administration and immediately moved to shift focus, targeting the Supreme Court.
Thus the strategy was to draw attention to the Supreme Court's order to withdraw the security checkpoints and blame that move for the infiltration of Tigers into the city resulting in bomb attacks, conveniently ignoring the fact devastating strikes were made by the Tigers in the past despite stringent measures in place.
In fact there was no Supreme Court order withdrawing check points when a LTTE suicide bomb struck at the highly fortified army headquarters targeting Commander Sarath Fonseka or for that matter the convoy of Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse either, not to mention the murder of TNA MP, N.Raviraj but all that was swept under the carpet with the decision taken to pin the blame on the temple of justice.
Of course Chief Justice Sarath Silva is all too aware of the mindset of the movers and shakers in government and on Monday, January 7 during the CWC case very succinctly captured the vision under which the administration operates as lawyers including Additional Solicitor General Palitha Fernando and Congress members listened in stunned silence.

Blind administration

Said the Chief Justice in open court - "In 1997-1998 too we had this problem of arrests. At that time there was an enlightened administration. Today we have a blind administration."
Those stinging comments no doubt reached the high and mighty in government and the decision to focus attention on the Supreme Court and build up public opinion against it was intensified and first off the blocks was Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle who used the assassination of Nation Building Minister D.M. Dassanayake as a launching pad with innuendo his stock in trade.
Interviewed by Hudson Samarasinghe of Isira Radio Wednesday, January 9, Minister Fernandopulle in very unambiguous terms blamed the killing on the withdrawal of the road blocks, adding Tigers too have as a result found easy access to the city and areas like Negombo and Wattala. He even went so far as to say the whole exercise was a Tiger contract .
Said he - "On a parliament day several VIPs take that route. It is possible that it was done targeting one of them. Also Hudson, what I see is that when you take the area towards Negombo, the airport is there. The army camp is also there. There were four to five roadblocks to protect them. There was a roadblock close to where aircraft in the airport were landing or taking off. There was one near the Negombo police. There were roadblocks before and after the Ambalanmulla bridge. All these road blocks were removed recently. All of them were removed. Once they are removed, anyone can do, now there was an incident yesterday evening. There was an incident in Nugegoda. There have been several incidents after the road blocks were removed. There is no point in hiding the truth. That is the true situation. Now the Tigers operate in Negombo, Wattala and Colombo."

Jeyaraj on the rampage

Added Fernandopulle for effect - "In Colombo they operate from Wellawatte and Bambalapitiya and from Mattakkuliya. They operate in Wattala and Negombo. There are a lot of suspicious people around our houses. Yesterday one LTTEer was arrested. Now the police say that they cannot search houses. Now a new order has been made saying that houses cannot be checked at night. Now after doing anything in the afternoon and the Tiger goes home in the night, the police can't search the house. The police has been stopped from searching houses. Now the police can't search homes in the night. Lodges cannot be searched. Roadblocks have been removed. Because of all this the Tigers have now got the visa to come to Colombo and kill anyone. To destroy anyone. This situation has happened after enforcing these laws. If you speak the truth without any fear, it is these changes that have caused these incidents. Because the roadblocks were removed."
Continued Fernandopulle - "Now think there are roadblocks in our areas. The Maha Oya roadblock was removed. The Kochchikade roadblock was removed. If those roadblocks are there, even the illicit liquor brewers are afraid to transport it because the police is there at the roadblock. People carrying bombs won't do it. Several lorries laden with bombs were taken into custody. Bomb transportation stopped due to it. Now like the peace agreement signed by Ranil Wickremesinghe, which helped the Tigers to come to Colombo, the removal of roadblocks, stopping of checks on lodges, prevention of arrests and stopping the checking of houses has helped the LTTE carry out their work freely. This is the only reason I see as the cause for these incidents. Many incidents may happen in the future."
While Fernandopulle was being economical with the truth when it came to the reference of all searches being stopped in the nights, he also conveniently avoided mentioning that it was a minister of his own government that had taken one of these issues to court prompting the order on the arrests and detention of Tamils.
Did that make Thondaman also an agent of the LTTE?
But then again the purpose of the exercise was not to tell the people the truth but build up public opinion against the Chief Justice and the Supreme Court in the government's stride towards a dictatorship. And with the media already silenced to a large extent by identifying all those critical as traitors and LTTE agents - the stage was being set to do likewise with the Chief Justice and the Supreme Court, hence the accusation of creating conditions to the LTTE to infiltrate the city.
The dictatorial book
It was almost as if President Rajapakse was taking a leaf from the dictatorial book of Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf and putting it into practise in Sri Lanka having not learned from the experience in that country.
Ironically, while Fernandopulle chose to castigate the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice by innuendo publicly, in private he was blaming the high and mighty for withdrawing from the CFA and even taking away one of his back up vehicles, thereby putting his life at risk.
Minister Fernandopulle who though giving interviews against the judiciary did not attend parliament, the parliamentary group meeting or the cabinet last week was to tell confidants that while hangers on like Sajin Vass Gunawardena were given bullet proof vehicles, he was deprived of even a back-up vehicle he had, prompting him not to attend any official engagements.
With these sentiments also communicated to the President's office, Fernandopulle was to get a bullet proof vehicle and STF security within hours and he was back to his routine.
Be that as it may, the very day, Fernandopulle opened up against the judiciary, so did President Rajapakse, albeit with circumspect but the few words said were equally potent.
Speaking to the government parliamentary group Wednesday evening, President Rajapakse cautioned the members about their security stating the LTTE will be looking for soft targets to cause panic and he then proceeded to outline the action he proposed to take.

To arrest and to detain

Said the President - "I am going to put DIG Nimal Lewke in charge of Colombo security from tomorrow (Thursday). He can put back the barricades and checkpoints if it is deemed necessary. He can also arrest and detain people if there is a security threat. This will be done on Presidential orders. If there is a problem with the Supreme Court, it has to be against me. Lets see then."
This mood of defiance in government was also evident when the cabinet met with the President telling the ministers not to take their security lightly but practise deception rather than travelling in large convoys.
Interjected Minister Maithripala Sirisena - "Why don't we have some lectures for MPs on security measures to be taken. Also we must continue with our day to day activities without allowing fear to set in the way."
Responded President Rajapakse - "Yes, yes, go out and do your work without being frightened. This is to be expected when we are fighting a battle."
Despite such comments, the President probably now realises, the decision to withdraw from the CFA was a tactical mistake, especially given the extent of international opprobrium and the backlash he would experience if the security situation in the south continues to deteriorate and he moved to capture some lost ground by calling on the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) to do a rescue operation.
The idea was to get the APRC to forward a political package as a consensus document to show the government's commitment to a negotiated settlement and nip in the bud the alignment of international forces against the government over the withdrawal from the CFA.

Before Independence Day

Towards this end, the President spoke with APRC Chairman Minister Tissa Vitharana and invited him together with other committee members and their party leaders for a meeting on Wednesday night to discuss their work and bring out a consensus report before independence day.
But in doing so the President only helped prove the JVP grip he is caught in with the whole charade of the government's commitment to a negotiated settlement and the futility of the APRC being fully exposed.
For starters, with SLMC Leader Rauf Hakeem quitting the government, he was not invited for the meeting as a party leader, prompting party representative, Attorney Nizam Kariyappar to also boycott the meeting. Attending the meeting with the President from the APRC were Tissa Vitharana, Karu Jayasuriya, Douglas Devananda, D.E.W. Gunasekara, Dinesh Gunawardena, Rishard Badiudeen, Abdul Kalam, R. Yogarajan, P. Radhakrishnan, Champika Ranawaka, Udaya Gammanpila, Ferial Ashraff, A.H.M. Athaulla, Ranjith Navaratne, Raja Collure and R.M. Podiappuhamy.
The President was flanked by Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, Maithripala Sirisena, Nimal Siripala de Silva, D.M. Jayaratne, Rohitha Bogollagama, Dulles Alahapperuma and Basil Rajapakse. Treasury Secretary P.B. Jayasundera also joined in as the meeting progressed.
From the names, it will be evident, the whole exercise was a complete government exercise.
Initially to give the APRC a semblance of independence, the President inquired from Minister Vitharana the progress the committee has made and to outline some highlights which he proceeded to do.

Borrowing money

Having listened to the highlights, President Rajapakse was to ask Vitharana whether the provinces under his proposals could borrow money from outside sources and the minister replied in the affirmative, stating it was subject to approval by parliament and the National Finance Commission.
The President however would have none of it stating the provinces cannot be allowed borrowing powers since it would create a dangerous trend, a point, CWC's Yogarajan countered with reference to the safeguards provided.
Yogarajan pointed out that even corporations had power to borrow with approval of the central government, a comment the President pooh-poohed stating corporations came under the central government and that the provinces did not.
Surprisingly, Senior Presidential Advisor, Basil Rajapakse struck a note of moderation calling for some power to be devolved if the proposals are to find acceptance with even borrowing powers to be devolved subject to approval by the External Resources Department. He found ready support from Minister Maithripala Sirisena though Minister Nimal Siripala wanted all powers devolved under the 13th Amendment.

On deaf ears

Replied the President - "Those things can't be done. No borrowing powers can be given to the provinces. It will lead to problems." Chipping in to support the President was P.B. Jayasundera, who said giving the provinces borrowing powers will make it impossible to control overall debt and arguments that such issues can be overcome by putting controls in place fell on deaf ears.
And the fact that the government had no intention of getting any consensus political package through the APRC for fear of the JVP was made abundantly clear by the President soon thereafter.
Said the President - "There is no point in you coming out with a consensus document because it will lead to the fall of the government. The JVP will oppose it, and the JHU will also be compelled to oppose it then. In such a situation, the UNP will make political capital and the government will fall. When that happens, your document will be a mere paper document."
With that said, the President fished out a document from a file and told the APRC members to reach a consensus based on it and submit it to him by January 23. The document called for the implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
Thus, in one fell stroke the President made a mockery of the entire APRC, which had laboured for over 18 months to reach a consensus document after having called for submissions from the various political parties. The copious documents and reports, which were finalised, written submissions made by the political parties and the money, time and energy spent on the exercise were all reduced to naught for fear of the JVP with the President reverting to the 13th Amendment.
The absurdity of the situation was not lost on the members present, especially considering the fact the 13th Amendment was already law and all the President had to do was implement it in full if that was his answer to the problem and Vitharana said as much.
Not about to relent, the President gave the document to Vitharana and told him to read it, meet with the APRC members, reach a consensus based on the document and submit it as coming from them.
All the people all the time?
Obviously believing you can fool all the people all the time, the President said he would like the APRC's consensus document by January 23 so that he can proceed to implement the same.
The thinking of the President was that such a document coming out of the APRC would satisfy India in particular since the 13th Amendment was a product of the Indo-Lanka agreement and help deflect from criticism over the CFA abrogation.
To dress up the document submitted, which it transpired was drafted by Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, the President said there will be a full implementation of Tamil as an official language and to recommend the necessary recruitment of persons and purchase of equipment to implement that provision.
Given the hopelessness of the situation, Yogarajan asked whether the President can at least withdraw the concurrent list and assign the subjects therein to the provinces but that too was met with an emphatic 'No.'
The President however said an advisory council to assist the governors of the north and east can be appointed in consultation with the political parties representing the two provinces and that the APRC could recommend such action as well.

Fearing the Leader

The icing on the cake came when APRC members wanted copies of the document to study only to be told since it would end up at 'The Sunday Leader' they cannot have it. (See page 17 for document)
Said Minister Devananda - "It will end up in the Leader. There is a black sheep here. We have to be careful."
On that note the meeting ended with Minister Vitharana inviting the APRC members to meet the following day, Thursday, to finalise the proposals as urged by the President and it is at this meeting tables were turned on Rajapakse and the JVP.
As the meeting got underway, Vitharana distributed copies of the document forwarded by the President only to see SLMC's Kariyappar and CWC's Yogarajan lodging their vehement protests and refusing to be party to such a charade, a point the Chairman did not disagree with.
The members said they were not prepared to make the 13th Amendment the proposal of the APRC with Kariyappar in particularly stating if an attempt was made to do so he would leave the room straightaway and "give the document to Lasantha."
"If the implementation of the 13th Amendment comes as a proposal of the party leaders, we are willing to respond and make our comments but we will go ahead with our main document," the CWC, SLMC and several other members argued.
And the APRC document of course is proposing a solution which is federal in nature and makes no mention of a unitary state, as demanded by the JVP, JHU, SLFP and MEP.
The CWC, SLMC, Ferial Ashraff's NUA, Chandrasekeran's UPF, Athaulla's National Congress and Minister Vitharana were backing the APRC document.

Dual strategy

With that being the situation, the MEP and the JHU representatives insisted on the APRC adopting the 13th Amendment formula but the majority would have none of it and as a compromise a dual strategy was adopted.
Accordingly, it was decided the APRC proposals as well as the 13th Amendment formula given by the President for adaptation would both be presented on the same day, January 23 on the condition that the 13th Amendment will be implemented in full inclusive of police powers until such time the APRC proposals are ready for implementation.
Further, it was said by Kariyappar that the President's formula of appointing an advisory council to the governors of the north and the east should be rejected with the option given to either hold elections or appoint such council based on the current composition of parliamentary representation in the north and the east. That would mean the TNA holding a majority in the north and not the EPDP as envisaged by the President and Minister Devananda,
Thus, if this formula as decided goes through both the President and the JVP will be stumped with the international community too coming to realise the political chicanery that was at play.
It would also mean the political package once again getting relegated to the backburner given the JVP threat of toppling the government as adverted to by no less than the President himself.
In this context, Japan's Special Envoy Yasushi Akashi is due to arrive in Sri Lanka today to urge the government to reconsider its position on the CFA and return to the negotiating table. What Japan hopes to do thereby is use its financial clout as leverage, knowing fully well the government will be hard put to reject the proposal outright considering the Land of the Rising Sun being the country's largest donor.

Government's victory claims

Further, the government's military victory claims and the restoration of normalcy in the east was not helped by the likes of Minister Douglas Devananda, who wanted the Eastern Province elections conducted under the security forces.
That naturally led to the question whether the east was in fact fully cleared of the LTTE, for if it was so, then there would be no need for democratic elections to be held under military cover.
It is in the backdrop of such developments, serious questions have arisen whether the government has a clear strategy in dealing with the mounting issues confronting it and the answer does not look that promising with the full impact of their follies to explode around April, economy included.
In the meantime, the LTTE made matters worse for the government in the international arena, taking high moral ground on the CFA abrogation notwithstanding its own violations. This the LTTE did by calling for the full implementation of the CFA and urging the international community to use its good offices with the President to ensure it, thereby playing the aggrieved party.

Rights of the Tamil people

At the sametime, the LTTE in a statement also made use of the opportunity to ask the international community to withdraw the ban on the organisation given the current situation and recognise the right of the Tamil people to self determination once again stating by implication, the government has left them with no option by going for a military solution.
In doing so on the one hand the Tigers also warned of crippling strikes if the war is escalated with the Tiger Peace Secretariat Chief S. Puleedevan outlining the LTTE position to Reuters, where he was quoted as saying, "If full scale war is thrust upon is, we will face it and the Sri Lankan armed forces will face the same fate that they faced in 1997/1998."
Be it rhetoric or not, it only means more blood and devastation in the coming weeks and with the Rajapakse brothers taking on the international community, judiciary, media, civil society and the opposition, the question is whether they have the staying power.

http://www.thesundayleader.lk/20080113/POLITICS.HTM