By Suranimala

Faced with an imminent split over Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe's vacillation in taking the fight to the government, the UNP finally closed ranks Thursday on the premise of defeating the administration of Chandrika Kumaratunga by June/July 2001.

A majority of UNP MPs have for some time now been critical of the party leader not just for his failure to lead from the front but also the laid back approach towards toppling the government in parliament, particularly in the face of overtures made by members of the ruling coalition itself.

Time and again Wickremesinghe was confronted by members with motions and proposals to impeach the chief justice, take the battle to the streets, defeat the government during the budget and other offensive actions but in almost every instance he was seen as playing for time pushing issues to the backburner.

Wickremesinghe may well have had his strategic or astrological reasons for putting issues on hold but with the passage of time, the MPs were increasingly getting frustrated leading to them attributing motives for his inaction ranging from having a deal with the government to being scared of President Chandrika Kumaratunga. Such accusations Wickremesinghe visited upon himself for no other reason than inaction.

Snoring

The country under Kumaratunga was reeling under every conceivable issue, be it economic, social or political with corruption at an all time high but the UNP was only heard snoring.

To make matters worse, even in parliament where Wickremesinghe is considered a master manipulator, he failed to make an impact by not personally taking up issues on the floor of the house, opting instead to use selected speakers against the government.

This failure to lead from the front and take up the abundance of issues handed on a platter by the government finally led to the perception in the country fuelled by PA propaganda that Ranil Wickremesinghe cannot deliver victory to the UNP.

With the passage of time even his closest MPs and aides began whispering among themselves it was difficult to face the might of the PA government under the leadership of Ranil Wickremesinghe due to his laid back approach. Being an introvert by nature did not help his case either with most who did not know him attributing his style to arrogance.

The tragedy for Wickremesinghe was that even his worst critics in the party admitted there was no equal to him in the UNP either with the vision or the management skills to guide the country out of the pitiable mess President Kumaratunga had reduced it to but the formidable question remained whether he could make it to deliver on his vision.

Beautiful dream

The party afterall could not live on a beautiful dream alone. The reality had to be confronted and dealt with.

And as in the case of most leaders protected by an autocratic party constitution, Wickremesinghe did not hear the danger signals however loud they were sent to him, preferring to believe a few 'yes men' around him who nodded their assent to his every decision simply to protect their own positions.

The arrogance of some of these 'yes men' like cop turned private secretary Sudath Chandrasekera who was a law unto himself with connections to the President's Security Division, even giving directives to the elected members of parliament, only helped aggravate the situation.

That was the backdrop in which Wickremesinghe was approached by Assistant Leader Gamini Athukorale with the proposal of defeating the government on the third reading of the budget to which the UNP leader gave the greenlight.

Thereafter, Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya, MPs Athukorale, Rajitha Senaratne, Ravi Karunanayake and Gamini Lokuge started working on the PA members while Wickremesinghe together with Milinda Moragoda took it upon themselves to personally deliver four other MPs.

The understanding reached was that the four MPs handled by Wickremesinghe were a certainty if the Jayasuriya-Athukorale team were able to deliver three more.

Working on that basis, the Jayasuriya-Athukorale team produced two MPs for Wickremesinghe to see on the night of April 10 with two more to cross over on the morning of the 11th while one minister agreed to abstain from voting, giving the opposition a comfortable victory.

However when it came to the crunch, Wickremesinghe did not deliver his four, postponing the final decision for April 11.

By this time panic set in and both Karunanayake and Senaratne personally spoke to the leader of the group of four MPs and arranged a meeting at Jayasuriya's third floor office in the parliament building to ascertain whether they had a deal on the third reading scheduled for 6 a.m. that very day.

But to their surprise, when the leader of this group did meet them, he said, Wickremesinghe was informed 10 days earlier, they would not be ready for April 11 but for a motion of no confidence between May and June.

It appeared astrology had something to do with their decision.

This statement had Athukorale livid since even the previous night, when the PA MPs were introduced to the UNP leader, Wickremesinghe had not disclosed the intentions of the four MPs group.

And within 24 hours thereafter Wickremesinghe was airborne to Norway leaving the Jayasuriya-Athukorale team perplexed.

Not long after, word went out from a Sinhala journalist that Wickremesinghe had sat with him and worked the numbers and there was never the intention to defeat the government during the third reading due to fear of dissolution.

But on the morning of April 11 most UNP MPs believed the government was going to be defeated and the sudden change of plans had them crestfallen and with word going out that Wickremesinghe did not keep his part of the bargain, the pent up frustrations of the MPs gave way.

Unfortunately for Wickremesinghe, having left for Norway, he was not able to explain what happened during his discussions with the four MPs group giving rise to various speculations and interpretations of his actions.

Given this scenario the perception that Wickremesinghe was not interested in defeating the government took root and a group of MPs approached Jayasuriya and Athukorale to work a strategy of defeating the government without the participation of the UNP leader.

They argued that given the last experience, the PA MPs may not throw in their weight under Wickremesinghe's leadership.

However both Jayasuriya and Athukorale told the MPs, the party should be united if the government is to be defeated and a strategy evolved accordingly.

By this time, the MPs were also openly discussing other problems faced by them due to Wickremesinghe's style of leadership and with word reaching two of the UNP leader's closest friends, businessmen Malik Samarawickrema and Lalin Fernando, contact was made with Wickremesinghe in Norway and he was briefed on the latest developments.

In the meantime the Jayasuriya-Athukorale team had several discussions on the planned no confidence vote against the government but always in the presence of Malik Samarawickrema.

The decision to involve Samarawickrema in the discussions was taken to dispel any notions of a conspiracy against Wickremesinghe and as agreed, Samarawickrema kept the UNP leader briefed of the proceedings following which he decided to return early partly due to health reasons.

In the meantime a frantic telephone call from Speaker Anura Bandaranaike that a document calling for Wickremesinghe's ouster as opposition leader was on its way to him heightened fears in the UNP leader that all was not well in the UNP, which hastened his arrival in Sri Lanka.

At the time the telephone call was received on Milinda Moragoda's hand phone, Wickremesinghe was not to know the Speaker was hallucinating and playing his own little game of politics at the behest of an interested party.

The reality however was that a large body of MPs wanted substantial changes made in the party prior to moving the no confidence motion against the government and this was conveyed to Samarawickrema.

Subsequently on Sunday, April 22 a large number of MPs met to consider the next course of action and a decision was taken for a delegation comprising Karu Jayasuriya, Gamini Athukorale and W.J.M. Lokubandara to make representation to Wickremesinghe on their thinking.

By this time, the UNP leader had already invited Jayasuriya and Athukorale for talks at 10 a.m. and 12 noon respectively but in view of the sentiments expressed by the MPs, they decided to go as one delegation.

At that point of time, the thinking of the MPs was that the PA MPs may not agree to crossover in May/June if Wickremesinghe was at the helm given the last experience and hence he should be asked to step back temporarily until such time the government is defeated.

At this meeting, Wickremesinghe was assisted by party chairman Charitha Ratwatte and Malik Samarawickrema where the UNP leader met the trio jointly as well as separately followed by a final joint session.

It was explained to Wickremesinghe that a large number of MPs were of the opinion that he did not help defeat the government during the budget leading to a lack of confidence in him.

Apart from the specific issue of defeating the government, issues relating to the handling of parliamentary affairs, the youth front where Sudath is a key player and the role of a Sinhala journalist also came up of discussion.

Athukorale in particular said he was hurt at what happened on the budget vote especially since the leader of the four MPs group had indicated, Wickremesinghe was informed of their decision 10 days earlier.

Lokubandara for his part specifically said there was no conspiracy against Wickremesinghe but a strategy evolved to defeat the government with the concurrence of the party leader.

He was told in order to give effect to the plan, Wickremesinghe should consider taking a short rest, thus allaying doubts PA members may entertain.

They went on to tell Wickremesinghe that the motion against the chief justice was being delayed leading to more concerns among the MPs not to mention the no confidence motion against the government.

It was further said there was a perception Wickremesinghe had a team of favourites and took advise from a Sinhala journalist paid by the UNP as opposed to party veterans.

Having listened to the triumvirate, Wickremesinghe said he did not in anyway undermine the effort to defeat the government and that Milinda Moragoda had been asked to inform them of the status of the four MPs.

Driven by emotion

"Sir why should Milinda tell us? You are the leader and we are your assistants. Why couldn't you tell us," Athukorale asked, driven by emotion.

At the same time Lokubandara said a parliamentary group could be summoned before April 30 on the basis of discussions for the May Day preparations, a proposal Wickremesinghe was not in agreement with.

Wickremesinghe originally suggested May 9 for the parliamentary group meeting but later suggested May 3 but that was not acceptable to the triumvirate, who wanted a meeting summoned early.

Finally, Wickremesinghe said he would sort out all the problems referred to within a short period and requested Lokubandara to finalise the motion against the chief justice within the next 10 days. He also said all party activities will be co-ordinated by a committee of four comprising himself, Jayasuriya, Athukorale and Lokubandara.

The meeting ended with Wickremesinghe stating a press release would be made with their concurrence on the discussions.

However on the way out, Athukorale informed Wickremesinghe they would be meeting the MPs that night to take a decision based on the discussions and would revert to him thereafter.

No sooner the meeting concluded Wickremesinghe loyalists led by Kalutara district MP Mahinda Samarasinghe got activated summoning a group of MPs to meet Wickremesinghe in a show of solidarity.

Even as Samarasinghe was summoning the MPs loyal to Wickremesinghe, the opposition leader's press secretary Saman Athaudahetti was busy faxing and reading the press release to Athukorale, Jayasuriya and Lokubandara.

On reading the press statement neither Jayasuriya nor Athukorale were happy with it and informed the press secretary to hold it back until such time they gave the greenlight. But Athaudahetti informed the duo, the statement had already gone out and there was no way of recalling it.

With the stage thus set, 17 MPs answered Samarasinghe's call on Monday to meet the opposition leader at which meeting he announced that a no confidence motion on the government would be introduced around June/July and went on to circulate copies of the press statement.

Wickremesinghe also briefed the MPs of the discussions with the Jayasuriya-Athukorale-Lokubandara triumvirate and the need to move forward. Among the MPs present were Johnston Fernando, Lilantha Perera Indika Bandaranaike, Rohita Bogallagama and Ranga Bandara Herath.

A suggestion made by some MPs at the meeting to collect signatures in support of Wickremesinghe however was rejected by the party leader and Samarasinghe was entrusted the task of lobbying MPs at a personal level in support of the opposition leader.

While these developments were taking place at Wickremesinghe's Cambridge Terrace office, elsewhere in Colombo, a group of 23 MPs were meeting to consider the outcome of the morning's discussions.

This group dubbed the 'Reformists' has in their armoury not just senior members of the likes of Karu Jayasuriya, Gamini Athukorale, M. H. Mohammed, Rukman Senanayake, P. Dayaratne, W.J.M. Lokubandara and Daham Wimalasena but also firebrands such as Rajitha Senaratne, Ravi Karunanayake, Gamini Lokuge, Jayawickrema Perera and Lakshman Seneviratne.

At the outset, Athukorale acting as the spokesman for the 'Reformists' explained what transpired at the meeting with the opposition leader and the reasons as to why the government could not be defeated at the third reading.

"The leader said Milinda was informed of the situation and he was supposed to have explained what happened to us," Athukorale said.

Following Athukorale's statement, Lokubandara and Jayasuriya followed suit after which a lengthy discussion ensued, where the Reformists argued that specific assurances should be obtained from Wickremesinghe to ensure a conducive climate is created to defeat the government in parliament.

To achieve that objective the Reformists said a group meeting of the parliamentarians should be summoned immediately to discuss the developing crisis and towards that end a letter should be written to Wickremesinghe.

With agreement thus reached, a one paragraph letter in Sinhala was drafted in the handwriting of Rajitha Senaratne wherein it was stated that a parliamentary group meeting must be summoned to discuss the current crisis before April 30.

Thereafter Jayasuriya affixed his signature first, then Athukorale, Lokubandara, Mohamed, P. Dayaratna followed by the other MPs.

Having collected the 23 signatures, Badulla district MP Upali Samaraweera was entrusted the task of collecting the signatures of the other MPs the following morning.

Accordingly, Samaraweera met with Ratnapura district MP, Mahinda Ratnatileke early in the morning of Tuesday, April 24 and that is when trouble really started brewing.

Very critical

Ratnatileke was approached first since he had been very critical on the slow pace of UNP activity and had pledged full support for the Reformists when first spoken to by Senaratne.

But when the file containing the document was handed for his signature, Ratnatileke started looking for his spectacles and walked upstairs with the file and immediately called Wickremesinghe's residence.

A few minutes later Ratnatilake came down and informed Upali Samaraweera, there was a telephone call for him. Upon taking the receiver, Samaraweera found it to be Kalutara district MP Mahinda Samarasinghe who said he was at the 'leader's house.'

Samarasinghe went on to ask Samaraweera what he was trying to do and requested him to come over with the document to Wickremesinghe's residence.

At that point, Samaraweera had said he was still in the process of collecting the signatures for the group meeting and as such, it was not possible to bring the letter.

Thereafter he kept the telephone and asked for the file from Ratnatileke, who refused to part with it.

"I have been given a contract and I will deliver it to the leader," he said to a shocked Samaraweera who walked out of the house.

Not much later, Ratnatileke drove upto Samaraweera's premises in the same compound and asked him to accompany him to the opposition leader's residence but Samaraweera declined. Seconds later Ratnatilake was on his way to finish his 'contract.'

By this time Jayasuriya, Athukorale and Lokubandara were informed of Ratnatileke's high-handed act and they were livid.

"What democracy is there in a party where the MPs cannot in amity call for a group meeting without the letter being snatched?" Lokubandara was to ask.

But upon inquiries made, both Samarasinghe and Wickremesinghe said the letter was not given to them while Ratnatileke took up the position he had burnt it.

That Tuesday morning any hope of a compromise formula vanished due to the actions of Ratnatilake with both Jayasuriya and M.H. Mohamed personally meeting Wickremesinghe and making a request for the letter.

Wickremesinghe however said he did not have the letter and told Jayasuriya, whoever got the letter first should destroy it since it was damaging to the party.

Having said that, Wickremesinghe told Jayasuriya, he would in any event summon a group meeting for Friday, April 27 obviating the necessity for a letter.

By this time the loyalists led by Samarasinghe were planning a counter-strategy to collect signatures in support of Wickremesinghe and summoned another meting of MPs for that very Tuesday at 5 p.m.

On that issue, Lokubandara told Wickremesinghe it would not be a wise move to collect signatures in support of him since, the failure to obtain those of Jayasuriya, Athukorale and the other seniors and the Reformists would be detrimental to him.

But the strategy of the loyalists was to contact as many MPs as possible other than those who had signed the document calling for a group meeting and get their signatures as a show of strength for Wickremesinghe.

Interestingly, in deciding to invite only those MPs who had not signed the document calling for a group meeting, it became evident the document was in the possession of the loyalists, otherwise they would not know whom to invite.

In doing so however, they broke the principle on two counts. The loyalists invited Lilantha Perera who signed the document but not Navin Dissanayake who was not in the Reformists group.

It later transpired, Lilantha Perera was a 'mole' sent by Samarasinghe and it was the Colombo district MP who had kept his cellular on to enable the loyalists to ascertain what was going on at the Reformists' meeting. Perera however denied the allegation when asked by Jayasuriya.

Ironically some MPs with the loyalists were doing likewise, passing information to the Reformists on a ball by ball basis largely due to hostility among their own members.

And prior to the 5 pm meeting Wickremesinghe sat with Samarasinghe, Tyronne Fernando and Malik Samarawickrema to draft the document for the MPs' signatures calling upon their support for the party leader.

Instead it was decided to couch it in the language of calling upon the MPs to extend their support to defeat the government under the leadership of Ranil Wickremesinghe. Thus the thrust was to be the defeat of the government, which no MP could refuse to sign.

Fernando, given his brief, prepared the draft, which was polished by Samarasinghe and the final document read thus: "We the members of the United National Parliamentary Group reaffirm our objective of defeating the PA government which has brought immense hardship and misery to the people of Sri Lanka, and replace it immediately by a broad-based democratic government led by the Leader of the Opposition and United National Party, Hon. Ranil Wickremesinghe."

Thus when the MPs did meet on Tuesday evening it was to that document 48 MPs affixed their signatures with more expected to follow.

Though some of the young MPs were gung ho, Wickremesinghe realised the cream of the UNP were with the Reformists and struck a conciliatory note, castigating the media for calling them conspirators.

"They are not conspirators but loyal party activists who are wanting reforms. Let's all get together and move forward," he said appointing a committee of seniors to negotiate a settlement. The committee comprised Lokubandara, Festus Perera, Joseph Michael Perera, Karunasena Kodituwakku, Tyronne Fernando, A. R. M Cader and Alick Aluvihare.

Interestingly, the speakers that followed including Karunasena Kodituwakku, Mano Wijeratne, Joseph Michael Perera and Lokubandara all struck a similar note. Prior to the meeting Lokubandara and 12 other MPs informed the Reformists they would be attending the meeting.

Thereafter the document was forwarded for the signature of the MPs which saw Kalutara district MP, P. D. Abeyratne urging it not be done.

But Mahinda Samarasinghe, Johnston Fernando and Mahinda Ratnatileke insisted that it be signed with Colombo district MP, M. Mahroof calling for the file.

At that point Samarasinghe moved to hand over the file which saw Abeyratne once again raising issue asking what right Samarasinghe had to handle the file when he was not a member of the committee.

"Half your problems are because of him," Abeyratne told the UNP leader amidst calls of 'withdraw' by Samarasinghe.

Settle the dispute

Wickremesinghe finally moved in to settle the dispute stating he should be informed if there was a problem and that if it warrants, he would take action.

Understandably Wickremesinghe was not happy with this overall situation and started also inviting the Reformists for individual discussions to ascertain their problems and on meeting Karunanayake, he was specifically told the only problem he had was the slow approach to defeating the government.

Likewise, Wickremesinghe also invited Badulla district MP Lakshman Seneviratne who went for the meeting with three other Reformists, Tissa Attanyake, Gamini Lokuge and Ravindra Samaraweera.

These members too focused on the importance of defeating the government with Seneviratne even offering to tender his resignation if Wickremesinghe had a problem with the issue.

"Due to this inaction, we are finding it difficult to market you in the electorate and people are criticising the UNP. We have to restore their confidence and to do so, the reforms recommended by us must be carried out. We have a duty by the thousands of UNPers who have suffered and the people of this country to defeat this miserable government. We will be failing in our duty if we become 'yes' men just to secure positions from you. We will not be doing justice by anyone in those circumstances," the MPs said.

To the credit of Wickremesinghe, he gave all the Reformists a patient hearing making every attempt to answer their concerns.

At this time two other issues were irking the Reformists given their suspicion Wickremesinghe was dragging his feet on defeating the government in parliament.

Firstly news reached them that Sudath Chandrasekera, the much despised private secretary had met with Minister S.B. Dissanayake days earlier in Singapore and discussed a possible link up with the Wickremesinghe loyalists if the crisis reached breaking point.

Minister Dissanayake later related details of this discussion to some of his 'catchers' who were with him in Singapore but Sudath when confronted in Colombo denied the discussion while admitting to accidentally running into the minister at Mohommed Mustapha's in Singapore.

The other issue was the government's media committee meting where Minister Anura Yapa regularly briefs the state media on how to handle specific issues and understandably the main focus last week was the crisis in the UNP.

And Yapa briefing the state media personnel told them, the official line is to support UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and ensure he emerges victorious in the crisis.

This to the Reformists was proof not only of a secret deal some of Wickremesinghe's loyalists may have struck with the government but also that Kumaratunga feared any changes in the UNP would lead to the collapse of the government.

Sadly for Wickremesinghe he was becoming a victim of actions precipitated by his loyalists and by this time he was fast realising it.

In fact a message went out to Wickremesinghe that the very people who were defending him at that point of time were not only dealing with government ministers but would also be the first to cross over if the necessity arose whereas the Reformists were die hard party loyalists bent on defeating the People's Alliance government.

Ground reality

And Wickremesinghe having dealt with most of these members for a long period of time knew the ground reality only too well and sent a message back stating he fully understood the reality, the UNP simply cannot afford to lose the Reformists without suffering a devastating blow.

Thus that Tuesday night once again the Reformists met and decided to meet the committee with specific proposals upon being briefed by Lokubandara.

Accordingly, on Wednesday, April 26, the Reformists led by Jayasuriya and Athukorale met the committee at the Mayor's Centre and in detail explained their position and the reasons that led to the current crisis.

They said, in order to defeat the government the confidence of the PA members must be won back and as such, Karu Jayasuriya should be appointed the leader of the opposition.

Once an interim government is formed and the democratic reforms to the country including the four independent commissions, the abolition of the executive presidency, media reforms and peace are restored, they would go for fresh general elections within an agreed time frame under Wickremesinghe's leadership.

Later that evening, the committee conveyed the proposal of the Reformists to Wickremesinghe but he did not agree to them on the basis, the party constitution did not permit such an arrangement.

With the issue thus deadlocked, Athukorale was invited Wednesday night for talks with Wickremesinghe following a meeting the opposition leader had with Rajitha Senaratne.

At this meeting Wickremesinghe and Athukorale spoke frankly and decided to, in the interest of the party, agree on a compromise subject to approval by the Reformists. Wickremesinghe agreed to meet the Reformists as a group at Malik Samarawickrema's house for lunch the following day, Thursday April 26 and discuss their proposals.

Thus, around midnight Wednesday, Athukorale returned to Jayasuriya's residence where a majority of the 23 MPs were still gathered and explained the latest overture.

"Let us consider it in the interest of the party keeping in mind our primary objective of defeating the government," he said.

And given the lateness of the hour the Reformists agreed to meet in full strength on the morning of Thursday, April 26 to discuss the proposals to be forwarded to Wickremesinghe.

The Reformists were told that the committee appointed by Wickremesinghe would also be present on the occasion.

One-to-one discussion

Prior to this meeting getting started, Jayasuriya and Athukorale had a one-to-one discussion having consulted other members on the proposals to be forwarded and the duo came to an agreement on the formula.

Thus when the meeting started, Athukorale explained to the other Reformists the state of play and discussed the issue of the leader of the opposition.

The Reformists agreed that the first option was to have Karu Jayasuriya as the opposition leader for the purpose of defeating the government following which the Reforms would be introduced.

The second option considered was to continue with Wickremesinghe as opposition leader pending the defeat of the government but leave the question of the prime minister in the interim government open for discussion with all parties concerned. That is to say the PA MPs and other minority parties who are expected to join with the UNP to form the government of national reconciliation after the defeat of the Kumaratunga administration in parliament. The choice was to be between Wickremesinghe and Jayasuriya.

Included in this second option were far-reaching party reforms and the introduction of the impeachment resolution against the chief justice and the no confidence motion during the month of May.

Devolve power

The party reforms proposed were amendments to the party constitution to devolve power and in the election of office bearers. As an interim measure the appointment of former minister and Ampara district MP, P. Dayaratne as party secretary, M. H. Mohamed as chairman, Gamini Athukorale as national organiser in addition to his post as assistant leader were to be proposed.

Furthermore, it was decided by the Reformists that all important party decisions in and out of parliament be handled by a committee headed by Wickremesinghe and including Jayasuriya, Athukorale, Charitha Ratwatte and Lokubandara.

It was also suggested that Ravi Karunanayake, Sajith Premadasa and Navin Dissanayake be given prominent roles to play in the youth front.

With agreement reached on the two options, 20 of the Reformists proceeded to Samarawickrema's residence where Wickremesinghe and the committee were waiting.

And it was straight to business with Wickremesinghe agreeing to discuss the second option and after the Reformists individually and collectively expressed their views, agreement was reached.

Wickremesinghe said while the necessary changes would be gone into, the joint statement should give the broad framework of agreement without going into specifics.

The Reformists also urged Wickremesinghe to submit a report for the implementation of the amendments and other changes within one week which the UNP leader said was not practicable but that he would do so within two weeks.

Thereafter the press statement was drafted by Athukorale and Rajitha Senaratne and approved by Wickremesinghe who suggested one amendment.

Office bearers

The draft statement referred to amending the party constitution, reorganisation of the party and office bearers. However, Wickrmesinghe said there was no need to make specific reference to 'office bearers' since it was inherent in the reorganisation of the party as per their agreement.

With that the agreement was sealed but not before a word of caution by Badulla district MP, Lakshman Seneviratne. He said the UNP was able to diffuse a huge bomb that day but unless the changes agreed on were implemented in the spirit of the settlement the issue would erupt again.

At the end of the day, democracy triumphed and Wickremesinghe though bruised, also emerged a wiser leader who was prepared to listen to saner counsel rather than 'yes men' and forge a 'United' National Party, their ultimate objective being the defeat of the government in parliament.

When Anura Bandaranaike was appointed Speaker six months ago there was great hope that the 23 years parliamentary experience he counts would restore dignity to that much besmirched office. Twenty-three years of parliamentary experience however, were insufficient to erase a lifetime of indulgence and an insatiable desire to live in a feudal, hamu mahattaya past, which no longer exists in Sri Lanka. From Day One, Bandaranaike determined that it was now the people's turn to finance his life of exquisite luxury. Mangala Samaraweera clutching a corporate credit card would be a mere apprentice beside this master sponger on the national purse.

Dress me in satin

When Bandaranaike ascended to the office of Speaker he thought it necessary that he should be caparisoned in fitting style. Not for him a robe turned out by even the best brown-handed tailors in Sri Lanka, whose garments are renowned worldwide. He ordered his outfit from the house of Messrs Ede & Ravenscroft, the esteemed outfitters of 93 Chancery Lane, London WC2.

Bandaranaike is on record as having accused his Secretary General, Dhammika Kitulegoda of 'giggling' and 'wriggling.' It fell on Kitulegoda however, to fax the measurements of Mr Speaker's substantial frame to Mangala Moonesinghe, Sri Lanka's High Commissioner in London, so that those bespoke haberdashers could cut their cloth just right. If Kitulegoda giggled at this, to be fair, he had every right to, especially when he noted that the Speaker's collar, over which that multiplicity of chins hangs, is a robust 191/2 inches. We can only guess at whether or not the lissom Kitulegoda also wriggled upon noting that Mr Speaker boasts a chest of 54 inches, fully equal to his waist, which is also 54 inches. 'Upon what meat' the erudite Kitulegoda (known for his interest in Shakespeare) probably muttered to himself, 'Is this our Caesar fed?'

"Being an MP," the former British Conservative MP Matthew Parris observed, "Feeds your vanity and starve your self-respect."

On the second count, Bandaranaike need have entertained no fears: he evidently hasn't any-self respect, that is. Not content with the best outfitters and haberdashers his motherland has to offer, less than a week after he assumed office the tailors Ede and Ravenscoft were spinning and toiling to ensure that Sri Lanka had the best-dressed Speaker money could buy (whether Ede spun while Ravenscroft toiled or whether they took it in turns is not vouchsafed in us).

Be that as it may, the sad fact is that Messrs Ede and Ravenscroft, though possibly crestfallen at the prospect of receiving measurements by fax and not being able to measure their victim personally (Ravenscoft's speciality, it is widely rumoured in the saloon bars of Bloomsbury, is the inside leg), are heard-hearted businessmen. They have families to feed and cannot bear to hear the wolf scratching at the door. Shrugging their shoulders with the thought that there's one born every minute, their faces were wreathed in smiles as with a flourish they wrote their bill for £ 2071 (excluding VAT), unknowingly setting something of a national record for a wrinkled length of black cloth. Whether the hard-hearted Ede or the unfeeling Ravenscoft had the slightest twinge of conscience in mulcting from you and me the staggering sum of Rs 260,000 by way of GST and the other myriad taxes we pay to finance Bandaranaike profligacy, we cannot tell.

Living on charity is nothing new to Bandaranaike. All his life he has lived off well-to-do friends, many of who have now turned against him. The speakership therefore, did not come a moment too soon: it enabled a man accustomed to living his life at the expense of a handful of patrons to shift gear and begin living it at the expense of the whole country.

Last week we exposed a Rs 400-million fraud perpetrated by Mr Speaker's drinking buddies, using his patronage not just to commit the crime but also to avoid prosecution. While that takes the cake in terms of scale, Bandaranaike has sold his name to sponge on others for virtually everything from servicing his vehicles (at Callistus Royal Garage, Kiribathgoda) to being entertained on his frequent private visits to London (by a fugitive fraudster named Weerabahu).

Bandaranaike's association with what society would term 'shady characters' does not stop there. In 1995, his associate Jeff Goonewardene in the United States was one of those who together with Mexican millionaire Aturo submitted an offer for the development of the Galle Port. The issue boiled over into scandal after the late A. H. M. Ashraff, then Ports Minister, created a precedent by himself sitting at and influencing the tender board to award the tender in favour of another party favoured by him. Kumaratunga was later to claim, in Ashraff's own lifetime, that the government was cheated as a result of this, implying that Ashraff was corrupt. At the time, The Sunday Leader took cudgels on the scandal surrounding the award to Ashraff's preferred bidder. For his part, Bandaranaike openly promoted the Goonewardene-Aturo offer among all who cared to listen. The Kumaratunga government however, rejected this offer on the grounds that Aturo was allegedly a fraudster associated with drug peddling and money laundering it said it did not want drug money invested in Sri Lanka.

Servant boys

Last week however, a photograph emerged of Bandaranaike and Aturo in an intimate poolside pose, taken in America at about the time the Galle Port offer was made. Who could have guessed then that Mr Speaker, though not on speaking terms with his sister Chandrika, was arm in arm, hand in glove, shoulder to shoulder -- call it what you will -- with this very same underworld kingpin for whom, as the pose suggests, he entertained deep and warm affection.

In the early 1990s, the UNP wanted JVP backed Ariya Bulegoda paid off for his support and Bandaranaike stepped forward and offered to act as courier. He was given Rs. 2 million to hand over to the maverick left-wing member. Predictably, Bulegoda never received the money. Instead, Bandaranaike invested a million each with two crony businessmen to whom we shall refer, to save them embarrassment, merely as 'AP' and 'N', a Muslim businessman from Kotahena. Ironically for the Speaker, as he now laments neither businessman paid him interest on his investment and both have avoided repaying the capital.

Bandaranaike is presently away on one of his many junkets, this time taking in London, New York and the Barbados, to serve on an interview board for the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. Accordingly, on April 4, 2001, Deputy Speaker Sarath Munasinghe addressed a letter requesting Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake to obtain the president's concurrence for Bandaranaike to leave the country, accompanied by Deputy Secretary General of Parliament, Priyani Wijesekera.

Wijesekera however has become something of a martyr having been overlooked for the post of secretary general by the president (following the retirement of Bertram Tittawela) in a blatant case of political victimisation. As if this were not bad enough, one of Bandaranaike's first acts as Speaker was to seek approval to appoint 66 year-old former Secretary General and fellow Royalist Nihal Seneviratne as special advisor on a monthly salary of Rs 25,000. Despite being a much-respected public servant in his day, Seneviratne's entry into what was already a delicate situation shows, if nothing else, a lack of tact.

As it happened, Seneviratne's was one of several appointments Bandaranaike made, stooping even to include his domestic servant boys into the official staff as security officers or public relations officers, thereby avoiding having to pay them from his own pocket. Stuck for space, Seneviratne was quartered in the same room as Bandaranaike's private secretary and comrade of 20 years standing, Lajpath Wickremesinghe. It was common knowledge that the former secretary general had the Speaker's ear, and widespread resentment was in the air. Last week, predictably, an estranged and disillusioned Wickremesinghe resigned, the victim of intra-office intrigue.

Meanwhile, anticipating her trip to Barbados, Priyani Wijesekera went so far as to make airline reservations and obtain visas for her travel. Much to her surprise however, the reply from the President's Office to Sarath Munasinghe's letter turned the tables on both her and the Speaker. The president had ordered that Bandaranaike be accompanied by Nihal Seneviratne, and that no one else should travel with the Speaker. Not one to shun a fully-paid business-class trip to the world's funspots, Seneviratne evidently jumped at the idea, feigning embarrassment to Wijesekera with a giggle and a wriggle which, evidently, he had picked up from Kitulegoda. Taken aback by Seneviratne's affront, Wijesekera (who, after all, was originally employed during his tenure as secretary general and still calls him 'Sir'), backed down graciously.

As a travelling companion however, the staid and dignified Seneviratne has his limitations: one cannot see him bending over (whether forwards or backwards) to pander to the Speaker's every whim. In addition to Seneviratne therefore, Bandaranaike included in his delegation also his servant boy Sarath, officially designated public relations officer and paid as such by parliament, and even arranged for him to fly business class, a round trip costing the taxpayer a staggering Rs 255,000. Sarath appears to be an inseparable companion to Bandaranaike on his foreign travels and has been seen frequently with the Speaker before, as has his other servant boy, Gamini Gunaratne (now designated security officer), who accompanied him to Norway. While he evidently required security in Noway, it seems that Bandaranaike's need of the hour in Barbados is pubic relations.

However grand their official designations, the fact is that both Gamini and Sarath are Bandaranaike's 'domestic aides' as Gamini himself was described as such in a letter addressed to the British High Commission on February 20, 2001 by Secretary General of Parliament Dhammika Kitulegoda, seeking a visa for him. The depths to which this master-servant relationship extends defies wonder, given that Gunaratne travels business class at state expense in order to ensure that Bandaranaike's every need is satisfied.

The irony is that the name of the deputy secretary general was withdrawn on a presidential directive from travelling to Barbados on the basis that only one person could accompany the speaker but the servant boy Sarath was later included. It is also tragic that under Speaker Bandaranaike, the secretary general of parliament is reduced to writing letters to embassies seeking visas for Bandaranaike's servant boys as our documentation elsewhere in this page show. Would Seneviratne have done so?

Seneviratne is paid from the public purse to advise the Speaker, but it seems either that his advice is compromised by his sharing of the forbidden fruits of office, or that it is merely ignored by Bandaranaike, in which case the proper course of action is for him to resign. In his book Eminent Churchillians (1994), Andrew Roberts quotes Winston Churchill's direction to his newly-appointed parliamentary private secretary in 1941: "What I want is for you to keep the flies off the meswat. It becomes bad if they are allowed to settle even for a moment. I am the meat and you must show me the warning light when troubles arise in the parliamentary and political scene." Words indeed that Seneviratne might take to heart. Far from showing the Speaker the warning light, he was seated cheek by jowl with the much travelled servant boy, enjoying Sri Lankan Airlines' lavish business class service en route to London last week.

Dignity

A much-respected former public servant, Seneviratne emerges in a poor light in this episode. He has been hired as advisor, but he either proffers no advice or the advice he does proffer is not accepted by the Speaker. If he takes the view that he accompanied the Speaker on this trip because of a direction from the president, then how is it that he acquiesced in Sarath being taken along, when the president had specifically prohibited this?

Now that Bandaranaike has mended fences with his sister, he probably feels he can act with impunity. Quite apart from that, it was Seneviratne's duty to have stepped aside and insisted that the Speaker do the right thing and take Wijesekera with him. Not only had she been nominated, but she has loyally served parliament for almost two decades now and deserves some of the benefits of her office. Seneviratne will have to work hard to erase the public perception that he is a mere hanger on to Anura Bandaranaike, helping himself from the cookie jar and turning a blind eye to the Speaker's foibles. This is underlined by Lajpath Wickremesinghe's relationship with Bandaranaike, which deteriorated steadily since Seneviratne entered the Speaker's orbit.

The office of Speaker is one of the most hallowed institutions in parliamentary tradition. Having entered it, Bandaranaike has set about despoiling and pillaging it with unprecedented (but not uncharacteristic) avarice and selfishness. Last week we recounted the ancient tradition dating back to Peter de la Mare in the 14th century, whereby a newly-elected speaker is dragged to his chair by senior members of the house, so fearful is he supposed to be of this august office and the responsibilities it carries. It did not take long for this to inspire a capricious joke among parliamentarians that when Bandaranaike does finally relinquish office, he will have to be dragged from his chair.

Even if his profligacy and desire to do his servant boys a good turn were to be overlooked by an indulgent public, Bandaranaike's conduct as Speaker leaves much to be desired. The Speaker's most important attribute has necessarily to be his impartiality. In this respect, Bandaranaike would do well to adopt, as he has already done in other respects we will not go into here, the precedent set by Mr Speaker George Thomas. In his memoirs Mr Speaker (1985), Thomas recounts a difficult situation that arose in parliamentary procedure between the governing Conservatives and the leader of the Labour Party (of which Thomas was a member), Michael Foot. The argument is too long to recount here, but it will suffice merely to cite Thomas's rebuke to Foot, who was pressuring him to toe the party line: "Foot then asked me whether I would regard such a motion as a challenge to my ruling. I told him that I was not prepared for him to tell the House I had given him advice as it would give the impression that I had been in collusion with him. He clearly resented this and, from then to the end of the session sixteen months later, relations between us were always strained."

Conduct unbecoming

No such luck with Mr Speaker Anura Priyadharshana Bandaranaike. In the run up to the vote on the third reading of the budget on 11 April, when it was widely rumoured that the CWC would join hands with the UNP to defeat the government, Bandaranaike telephoned CWC leader Arumugam Thondaman and pleaded with him not to bring the government down. And this, while being not just 'impartial' Mr Speaker, but a sitting member of the UNP! A change of government would almost certainly have resulted in the loss of his treasured job and would probably have led to his sister being deprived of the presidency, both of which would have spelt doom for the dynasty.

Bandaranaike revels in the patronage he wields not just by being Speaker, but also by being the president's brother, something he seldom fails to point out even to visiting foreign dignitaries, much to the embarrassment of his audience. In February, the long-strained relationship between him and Kumaratunga was sufficiently healed for him to invite her to dinner at his Rosmead Place residence. Also among the select guests were business tycoons Harry Jayawardena and Chrisantha Cooray. Not only Bandaranaike, but even his servant boys were delighted by this sign of rapprochement and posed for photographs with him and Kumaratunga. Child-like, Bandaranaike would later boast to friends that the president enjoyed herself so much that she stayed on until 3 a.m.

While this inter-sibling fraternising is all very well, Bandaranaike is blissfully oblivious of the delicate balance he must maintain as Speaker. When he heard that moves were on in the UNP to challenge the leadership of his childhood playmate and party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, he telephoned the latter in Norway to warn him that alleged 'rebels' were collecting signatures on a petition to summon the UNP parliamentary group. No doubt he scored much-needed brownie points with Wickremesinghe, having previously and perfidiously gone behind his back to prevail on Thondaman not to support the UNP. Later, at a dinner hosted by Anura Soysa before Bandaranaike left for London, he would deny that he ever called Wickremesinghe. As with his sister Chandrika, lying comes naturally to Bandaranaike and he lies with a child-like expectation of being believed.

The coming weeks will try Bandaranaike's wits to the utmost. Torn between loyalty (if indeed he understands that word at all) to his sister, his party, his office and his greed, it will take all the double-speak and hypocrisy he can muster to save his pride in a reckoning with his past and his present that draws ever closer.

Kodituwakku says it is natural to have different opinions among members in a massive party like the UNP. "We have 89 members and all of them may have different opinions over one particular issue. There is nothing wrong in it. We have to accommodate all of them and finally take the best. During this process there can be some misunderstandings and one cannot come to the conclusion that the party is crumbling. We have placed our confidence in the leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and I believe he will lead the party even in the future," Dr. Kodituwakku told The Sunday Leader in an interview.

Following are excerpts;

By Wilson Gnanadass

A: There are different opinions with regard to the strategy to be used to defeat this government. Existing differences with regard to those strategies will be sorted out within the week.

Q: Could you be a little more specific with regard to these strategies you are talking about?

A: For example, some sections in the party believe we could have defeated the government at the third reading of the budget. But another section believes the ideal time would be either June or after that through a no confidence motion. In addition to those two options some others propose bringing an impeachment motion against the president. There are 89 members of parliament within the UNP parliamentary group and it is natural to have several opinions among them. As a party we have accommodated not only the different views but also all communities. Therefore I am very confident that we will be able to arrive at a common strategy after considering the advantages as well as the disadvantages of the strategies.

Q: As a senior member of the UNP what do you think is best? To defeat the government now or later?

A: Since the budget option has already gone, the best option I feel is the no confidence motion against the government. However, as a senior member I am prepared to go with the views of the majority of the party. When we propose a no confidence motion we must consult all other political parties in the opposition as well as views of the civil society of this country. We all are aware of the sufferings the masses undergo at present due to mismanagement and corruption in government. Therefore when we draft a no confidence motion, it must reflect the aspirations of all sections of society which includes the UNP.

Q: The UNP tried to defeat the government at the third reading of the budget but it failed. Do you think the UNP or those who wanted to do this have not considered civil society and all other parties as you mentioned?

A: Of course when we made an attempt to defeat the government at the third reading of the budget, we were trying to defeat the budget proposals of the government. It is true most of our MPs who spoke during the budget debate spoke on behalf of the suffering masses and they were able to articulate the aspirations of the people and of civil society. Nevertheless, it was not a draft or proposals prepared by the opposition. But when someone proposes a no confidence motion there will be an excellent opportunity to incorporate the views of the people. That is why I mentioned at the very beginning and I personally feel the best option is to propose a no confidence motion against the government.

Q: The UNP failed to defeat the government at the third reading of the budget. But did the members who planned it, do so with the blessings of the party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe?

A: Yes of course. In fact he himself has spoken to some members from the government. So he extended his blessings and co-operation to the senior members of the UNP who were negotiating with the segment of the government.

Q: Do you say that the allegations that the UNP leader did not co-operate to defeat the government at the third reading of the budget are false?

A: Absolutely. He did his best to defeat it though he too felt that the ideal time to defeat the government would be either May, June or sometime later this year. Even some legal experts believe that if the budget proposals are defeated in parliament then the president may have the option (rather than inviting another party to run the government ) to dissolve parliament though there is a clause in the constitution that the president can't dissolve parliament during the first one year. But defeating a finance bill or a budget is a kind of a standstill as far as finance are concerned. The validity of the vote on account would end on April 30 this year. So with that impending crisis the president would have dissolved parliament. But some others believe that this is not possible. In that case it becomes a matter to be settled in court or creates a chaotic situation. But if we defeat the government through a no confidence motion, there is no urgent necessity to dissolve parliament as budgetary provisions are there till January 31. Therefore the president has no option other than inviting the second largest or the leader who commands the confidence of the majority of MPs, to form the government. Since the UNP is the single largest party in parliament the president's options are limited or she has no option other than to invite the UNP leader. That is why even the UNP leader thought that this was the best option. I too believed the same. Since these are very subjective matters it is normal to have different views on these matters. In fact that is the very reason we are having some differences within the party at the moment.

Q: You have called those who tried to defeat the government at the third reading of the budget conspirators. Are they in your view conspirators?

A: No. None of them are regarded as conspirators. In fact they did their best to help the party, to remove the government which has imposed heavy sufferings on the masses. They did everything with good intentions. Therefore we reject that allegation. We did not regard them as conspirators at any time.

Q: There is a popular notion that UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe is not the man to lead the party. What do you say?

A: I do not accept that view at all. He is professionally and experiencewise and loyaltywise, the best. He has not betrayed the confidence bestowed on him by the party and the masses. He is one of the professionals in politics. He held very senior positions in the government including the post of prime minister since 1977. And he has always stood for the party and whenever the party faced crises in the past he has done his best to protect the party interest. Also I think in Sri Lankan politics another important and main criteria to judge politicians is their clean record. And Ranil Wickremesinghe has a clean track record. In fact he was regarded as Mr. Clean in Sri Lankan politics. Of course there are different styles of leading the party and that depends on different individuals.

Q: Some believe that Karu Jayasuriya would be a better leader than Ranil Wickremesinghe. What is your view?

A: These are very subjective judgements. No doubt Karu Jayasuriya is one of the senior leaders of the UNP. I think Ranil and Karu would be the ideal combination. In fact this kind of combination like Dudley-JR, then JR-Premadasa, has helped the party tremendously in the past.

Therefore not only a Ranil-Karu combination, but the combinations of Ranil and Gamini Athukorale would help the party more. Because I have observed that their behavioural pattern complement each other. They do not become substitutes to each other.

Q: It is believed that the dissidents are trying to present a no-confidence motion against Ranil Wickremesinghe on May 10. Is it true?

A: I am not aware of it. I do not want to use the word 'dissident' because none of them are challenging Ranil Wickremesinghe's leadership in the UNP though some hold different views on the office of the leader of the opposition. But I have to record it here that more than 63 MPs have already in writing endorsed that Ranil Wickremesinghe should continue not only as the party leader but also as the leader of the opposition. And the UNP constitution is also very clear on this matter. Whoever is the party leader becomes the leader of the UNP group in parliament. Therefore this question would not arise as far as I am aware. Hopefully all matters would be sorted out within a few days.

Q: Are there moves by some members to force the UNP leader to remove Gamini Athukorale and Karu Jayasuriya from the posts they hold at present?

A: No. There is no request at all from members to the best of my knowledge. This is the time to keep everybody together and not only the senior members of the party but also members who were just elected to parliament were repeatedly saying that we must do our best to keep all 89 members together and to give them the opportunity to work as a team. Therefore even in the future I don't think anybody would make that type of request to throw out these members.

Q: Do you agree that the party is at present divided?

A: As I mentioned at the very beginning there is no division but only different opinions with regard to the strategy of the party and the structure of the party and the decision making processes and so on. But as all of them are repeatedly indicating that they accept the leadership of Mr. Wickremesinghe, it is impossible for me to analyse such a situation as a division. Differences of opinion is absolutely permissible in a democratic political party.

Q: Some say if the leadership is changed the UNP could win elections as under Ranil Wickremesinghe the UNP has not won a single election since 1994?

A: These is once again a subjective analysis. It is true we lost local government, provincial, presidential and parliamentary elections. But the recent judgement given by the supreme court itself with regard to the elections held in Kandy, very clearly indicate how corrupt the PA has been. Since the Wayamba election these corrupt practices have not been secret. It is so corrupt that the president herself was compelled to make some remarks though she did not act against the people who were responsible for these things. Therefore the election defeat is not the fault of the leadership. It is not only the UNP leadership but the entire civil society and international community too are concerned about Sri Lankan affairs and are demanding a legal framework to have free and fair elections, namely the four independent commissions.

Q: Do you think the party should take disciplinary action against those who are trying to overthrow Mr. Wickremesinghe?

A: There is no attempt at all to overthrow Wickremesinghe. Therefore this will not arise.

Q: Do you think the present crisis has weakened the party to some extent?

A: Yes, but only in the sense that we could have used the energy spent in the past few days to highlight the peoples' sufferings imposed by this government. As an economist I am aware that in every event there is not only cost but benefit also. The benefit I feel at the end of this present situation is that the UNP will be a more united political force by removing all misunderstandings and differences that prevailed among senior members.

For the past several years, it has been clear to everyone except Ranil Wickremesinghe that something was badly wrong with the UNP. One election after another was lost and no one has taken responsibility or been accountable for these debacles. The UNP alleges post facto and usually sotto voce that these losses have been a result of government rigging. Yet, it has never seriously tried to convince the world of this, or even the monitors who came for the past two elections and gave the government, broadly speaking, clean bills of health. At the general election last October, we had the amazing spectacle of the General Secretary of the PA, D. M. Jayaratne himself alleging massive and widespread PA rigging. After the results were announced, the mahanayakes of Asgirya and Malwatta broke all precedent and declared the election a fraud. Yet, for several days Wickremesinghe remained silent, humbly acquiescing to the rout.

The UNP voters and organisers deserve better than that, for it is they who risk their necks to put the high and mighty of Colombo, who hold the party's high offices, into the Big Apple. Sip or sup where you will these days, and you hear grumbling about the UNP leadership in general and its lackadaisical, laissez-fair leader in particular. For the most part, UNP MPs spend their time apologising for the weakness of their leadership. This being so, clearly there is a lack of communication in the party.

The correct thing for Ranil Wickremesinghe to do after last year's general election rout was to have resigned his office, just as John Major (and that, while still prime minister) did in 1995, and stood for re-election by a secret ballot of the UNP's parliamentary group. Wickremesinghe would almost certainly have been re-elected, but it would have given him an objective estimate of the confidence the party had in him, in addition to bringing to the surface other leadership talent within the party. When J. R. Jayewardene wanted to select a prime minister in 1978, that is precisely what he did, and it led to the emergence not just of Ranasinghe Premadasa, but also Gamini Dissanayake and Lalith Athulathmudali. No subsequent UNP leader has felt secure enough to do such a thing, and we have said before that insecurity is something that Wickremesinghe needs to work at overcoming.

There was a widespread perception among MPs that the government could be toppled on the third reading of the budget on April 11, with the help of the JVP and several PA dissidents. It was a shock to the MPs then, when on that very morning, Wickremesinghe said they were unable to proceed and that instead, a vote of no confidence in the government should be considered in late May. Having said this, he almost immediately set off on a junket to Norway, leaving behind a disillusioned and angry party with no one to whom to air its frustration.

Given this situation, it is not surprising that senior members of the party took it upon themselves to begin forcing reforms. Clearly they felt that if such reforms were not undertaken, given Wickremesinghe's autocratic style of leadership, the party would be out of government forever. It is now clear that regardless of what happens, Wickremesinghe intends to remain leader of the party (and given its tracks record, also of the opposition) regardless of his performance, something the party's constitution allows him to do.

The trouble is, given this state of affairs, the UNP is most unlikely to retain its voter base. Unlike the SLFP, the Greens have by tradition been a liberal, non-family dominated party. A patent Wickremesinghe hegemony would immensely damage the party by encouraging sycophancy (of which a lot was in evidence last week) and reducing the party's credibility to that of the PA. It would also marginalise some of the party's best platform assets and most senior hands.

The UNP keeps bellyaching about democratic reforms for the country. We would remind it that democracy begins at home. Let us even now see less autocracy and more democracy in the functioning of the UNP. Wickremesinghe has made with impunity a string of bad judgements in the past: not promptly condemning the October 2000 general election result; not confronting the government on corruption and waste; not giving outspoken leadership to the phenomenal increase in the cost of living; appointing Anura Bandaranaike as Speaker; not endorsing Britain's banning of the LTTE, holding back on the impeachment motion against the Chief Justice; and not delivering on the April 11 overthrow of the government. Such vacillation has led to staunch UNP supporters openly saying that he is the greatest asset Kumaratunga has got.

This will not do. Wickremesinghe has promised reforms in the next two weeks, and he had better make sure and right sprightly that they reflect truly democratic norms and do not perpetuate a J. R. Jayewardene-style autocracy. If the Sri Lankan people are to trust the UNP to bring about a liberal-democratic government, more so an honest one, then there had better be a surfeit of democratic safeguards to ensure that diversity of opinion, and indeed, dissent, can fairly and safely be registered. And let us then see the Opposition doing the job the taxpayer is paying them to do, just as the JVP so clearly is.

Any government that claims to be democratically elected has a fundamental duty towards the people it claims to represent. It must ensure as far as possible the right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. At the very least the people must be protected from harm to life, limb and property. These are very hard to protect at times of war external or internal. Therefore, any responsible government would do its best to prevent the eruption or outbreak of war in any form. Even in cases where war becomes inevitable a responsible and humane government would seek ways and means to achieve peace as quickly as possible. War must not be institutionalised. This is quite imperative in the case of a developing country like Sri Lanka.

'War for peace'

Chandrika Kumaratunga tapped into this universal yearning for peace in Sri Lanka in 1994, and obtained an overwhelming mandate for peace. Yet she unleashed a massive war a year later named as a 'war for peace.' It was called a war for peace because it was aimed at weakening the LTTE sufficiently to 'bring them to the negotiating table.' For several years anybody who was somebody in the peace lobby was asking the LTTE to come to the negotiating table. It was taken for granted that our lady of peace was ever ready to negotiate and that only the Tigers were being obstructionist. Kumaratunga is ready for peace was accepted as an indisputable given.

Last year the LTTE decided to call Kumaratunga's bluff. Using the facilitatory efforts of Norway the Tigers made an overture for peace that is well known now. It even went to the extent of declaring a cease-fire unilaterally and sustaining it under great provocation for 121 days. The LTTE's peace offensive was not expected to reach its logical conclusion. What the Tigers wanted to prove at the negotiating table was that the Kumaratunga regime was unwilling and unable to accommodate Tamil aspirations and redress their grievances within a united but not necessarily a unitary Sri Lanka. They never got that chance. The angel of peace displayed no sense of urgency in responding. Instead the nation was witness to a shameful spectacle of filibustering. Everything possible was done to provoke the Tigers into war. Absolutely nothing concrete was done to make the peace process progress.

Finally, the LTTE after four months of maintaining an unrequited cease-fire decided to cease upholding it. Even then it declared its intention to support the peace process. The LTTE press release of April 23 said clearly, "We remain seriously committed to peace and to peacefully resolving the protracted ethnic conflict though we are compelled to withdraw our self-proclaimed cessation of hostilities, which turned out to be a futile exercise as Sri Lanka has failed to recognise its constructive meaning and purpose. Our liberation organisation will continue to support and cooperate in every possible way with the Norwegian government in its untiring and noble effort to bring about peace and negotiated political settlement to the Tamil national conflict."

Agni Kheela to the fore

If this government was genuinely desirous of a negotiated peace then it could have tried to salvage the situation even then. The good offices of Norway could have been utilised to get the peace process on track again. Instead, it resorted to full scale warfare again. The government left the LTTE no choice other than to fight back when it launched Operation Agni Kheela meaning Fire Flame in English or Akkini Chuvaalai in Tamil.

Fighting has escalated and by all accounts the rate of casualties is mounting. It is indeed appalling and deplorable that a government could display such callous disregard for the lives of its people and expose them so easily to carnage and bloodshed. What is it that has made this regime spurn the opportunity for peace and opt for war resulting in death, destruction, displacement and despair?

Various reasons could be trotted out. But ultimately two good ones stand out as possible causes. Firstly, the government knows that it can never agree to even the basic demands of the Tamil people when sitting across the negotiating table with the LTTE. It is one thing to present a progressive devolution package, reap international kudos and then systematically whittle it down to practically nothing while claiming to be a friend of the Tamils but an entirely different thing to engage in negotiations with a dedicated no nonsense type of organisation like the LTTE. The internal and external compulsions of the government would not allow it to even concede on paper anything tangible. The second reason is the misplaced confidence it has in its armed forces now fortified with newly acquired firepower and air power. It is hoped that the LTTE could be militarily wiped out. So the war is on.

Sacrificing young lives

Ironically, the first days of fighting indicate that all is not well on the frontlines for the government. The initial military projection was that the army could re-take Elephant Pass in seven days. The preliminary round of fighting has demonstrated that such a time frame would be impossible. Also it seems clear that even if the troops do succeed in reaching Elephant Pass it would only be after massive losses of manpower. But Jayasikurui had shown that this is a regime that does not care for the lives of soldiers and can cruelly sacrifice young lives to further the political ambitions of so called leaders.

Contrary to claims that the current offensive began only on Wednesday 25 morning at 5.30 a.m., actual fighting began the previous day. The LTTE's self imposed cease-fire was to expire at midnight on Tuesday, April 24. The army began artillery shelling at 4 p.m. on Tuesday 24. It also clamped down on fishing in the Jaffna lagoon from that evening onwards. Troops started moving out from 11 p.m. on Tuesday night. There were two thrusts on that night. One was from the Nagar Kovil area on the east coast of the peninsula. Troops proceeded downwards along the coastal axis through Kudaarappu and Maamunai.

The second thrust was from the Eluthumattuvaal sector in the centre of the southern part of the peninsula. Troops moved out from in a southern and south eastern direction. Kilaly on the west, Eluthumattuvaal in the centre and Nagar Kovil on the east form the three main points of control by the army in the lower region of the peninsula. A security fence has been established using these points as an axis from west to east by the army. Likewise, the Tigers have established their own lines of defence on a slightly lower but parallel axis.

LTTE begins to attack

On Wednesday morning troops commenced a third line of advance from the Kilaly sector also. There was also aerial bombardment. At least five planes comprising Russian Mig 27s and Israeli Kfirs were engaged in the bombing. Artillery shelling continued with firing from tanks and armoured cars too. The newly acquired Multi Barrel Rocket Launchers capable of firing 40 rockets in one minute were used liberally. The army has 16 of these now.

The rockets have a range of 20 kms and can reduce to rubble structures within a 30 sq km area. These were used to destroy Chavakachcheri town and its environs.

Troops advance

After letting the troops proceed forward to some distance the LTTE struck back. There was no direct fighting and the LTTE too began counter attacking with the artillery cannon and field guns at the disposal of the Kittu artillery unit commanded by Col. Bhanu. As fighting progressed the Tigers succeeded in driving back the columns in Kilaly and Nagar Kovil back to base. There was intensive shelling by Naval gunboats from sea on the coastal area of Nagar Kovil to Maamunai. It is not clear whether the advances from Kilaly and Nagar Kovil were deceptive maneuvers to distract and divide LTTE resistance.

The columns proceeding southwards from the Eluthumattuvaal sector proved harder to resist. The troops in the Eluthumattuvaal sector also retreated from their original positions but nevertheless managed to retain at least half the distance gained initially. Roughly, the troops had advanced about one and a half kilometres south by south east. This meant that about 5 to 7 square km in area had been newly captured and to some extent consolidated.

Fighting also erupted in the gulf of Mannar off Pallimunai on Mannar island on Thursday 26 morning. It is said that the off shore skirmish between a Sea Tiger boat and a Naval patrol resulted in a sailor being killed and two injured. Police sources said that the Tigers were attempting to land in Pallimunai. The previous night had seen a lot of shelling by the armed forces in Mannar island.

By Thursday 26, the fighting had intensified to a great extent. The army cancelled all civilian flights from Palaly saying that additional aircraft were required to transport injured personnel to hospitals. Injured soldiers were hospitalised for treatment in Vavuniya, Anuradhapura, Colombo and some other provincial towns. The army handed over seven bodies of Tigers to the teaching hospital at Jaffna.

Soldiers allowed to advance by LTTE

After about 60 hours of fighting the casualty figures were still contradictory and confusing. It was clear however that they were extremely high. The defence ministry has claimed that 108 Tigers have been killed and more than 400 wounded. It also says that 87 soldiers were killed and more than 400 injured. The LTTE claims that they have lost only 20 cadres in two days of fighting. The Tigers say that at least 300 soldiers were killed and more than 1,200 injured. Of these around 200 are said to be seriously injured.

According to Tiger reports the soldiers had been allowed to advance for tactical reasons and then encircled and attacked. Military circles accused the Tigers of having anticipated their line of advance and preparing elaborate defences. The Tigers were also charged with using a lot of booby traps and mines. The army also announced that it had made a devastating hit by bombing two buses carrying Tiger cadres to the battlefront. The LTTE has neither denied nor confirmed this claim.

Retaking the peninsula

After 60 hours of fighting it is becoming increasingly clear that contrary to boasts by the government that the LTTE was militarily weak, the Tigers possess tremendous resilience and ferocious fighting ability. The avowed objective of Agni Kheela is to retake Elephant Pass, but that goal may prove elusive and costly in terms of human losses. The advantage that the LTTE has is that it is in control of all the entry points to the peninsula.

There is a land link from the mainland to the peninsula. So the LTTE has great logistical advantage in ensuring continuous supplies. LTTE supremo Prabakharan along with senior commanders Balraj, Soosai, Bhanu and Theepan are overseeing fighting.

Tigers might avoid

civilian targets

The greater danger facing the government is that the LTTE may not confine itself to resisting the army in the peninsula alone. It is militarily advantageous for the LTTE to open up new fronts on a widespread scale and overextend the resources of the armed forces. It may not be a case of launching a massive operation like operation Unceasing Waves but conducting many small scale operations on a widespread basis. There are intelligence reports that senior leaders from Batticaloa like Karuna and Karikaalan are back in the east. The Jeyanthan infantry brigade that was raised from eastern recruits is also redeployed in Batticaloa. An eastern front could open up soon.

The 'Sinhala' south including Colombo and the Up Country could also become a theatre of war for limited operations. The past six months has seen the LTTE fuming at the government stabilising and prospering in the south because of its cease-fire and commitment to refrain from attacks in the south. Now it would like to destabilise the south. The Tigers may avoid civilian targets and focus on military and economic targets. It could also seek out high profile political and military leaders.

The government would be under great pressure if the LTTE adopts a political assassination campaign. The past months has seen top government figures being relieved of this pressure. When Norway was trying to formulate the MOU this government insisted on and obtained a moratorium on southern violence as the obligation on the LTTE side. This shows that the top most priority of this regime is to save its own skin collectively and individually.

Will the MOU materialise?

Under these circumstances the very same government that delayed the MOU may now try to get Norway to expedite the MOU, so that the Tigers would be compelled to observe a moratorium on violence. Erik Solheim may be asked to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Even the Norwegian government may be approached directly.

It is however improbable that the Tigers will fall into the government trap even if Oslo plays ball with Colombo. After being treated shabbily for six months by the government the LTTE is in no mood to relent. With the fighting in the north swinging in the LTTE's favour the overall politico-military conditions too are changing. So the LTTE may be in no mood to sign the MOU as a means to restrict the conflict. What it may demand however as a price for its consent is that the government should unilaterally do three things namely remove the economic embargo in full, declare an unconditional cease-fire and deproscribe the LTTE. If the government agrees then the LTTE would sign the MOU. But will the government comply?

Troops backed by Armour broke out of the Muhamalai-Eluthmadduval Forward Defence Lines (FDL) at 0530 Hours, and moved on the LTTE bunker line in a three pronged attack. The Army did have the element of surprise initially. Without being on the defensive waiting for the enemy to attack, the army attacked first, no sooner the cease-fire was suspended by the LTTE, immediately taking the initiative away from the enemy. This was indeed a refreshing change of military strategy. Since there are no elections slated for the near future, one can with a greater degree of confidence credit the Army for this, devoid of politio-military connotations this new offensive may lead us to a victory, if allowed to, by political-generals with their own hidden agendas.

Heavy mortar bombardment of Kilaly, Muhamalai and Nagar Kovil on Monday 23 by 120mm and 81mm LTTE mortars from positions at Kudarappu, Allipalai and Pallai, in which 22 Army soldiers were injured have been cause for concern.

Following the suspension of the cease-fire and the 'resumption' of hostilities by the LTTE. In itself a ludicrous statement, going by the Special Media Information Centre (SMIC) press release, which has enumerated 224 incidents (nine artillery attacks, 166 mortar bombings, 32 small-arms attacks, five grenade attacks, seven RPG attacks, four incidents of 40mm grenade launcher attacks and a combined artillery and mortar bombardment) of the LTTE violating its own unilateral cease-fire.

Five security forces personnel were killed, 92 wounded and five are said to be missing in action, since the cease-fire was declared on Christmas eve last year. During this period five civilians were also killed, three seriously wounded by the LTTE and another reported missing; presumed to have been abducted by the LTTE.

The LTTE themselves, on their part, claim 160 of their cadres killed in action and 400 wounded during this four month period in ground, sea and air attacks. In a statement issued they claim that as a result of their "self-imposed cease-fire, we suffered serious set-backs militarily loosing strategically important territory in the Jaffna Peninsula and suffering substantial casualties".

The military was expecting the LTTE to go on the offensive and the bombardment was considered to be a 'softening up'. However, whatever plans the LTTE had of another Unceasing Wave, was pre-empted by Operation Agni Kheela-1.

Intelligence elicited from captured Sea Tigers on the recent acquisition of sophisticated armaments to counter the superior firepower of the Army and the dominance of the Air Force, may have also contributed in no small measure in hastening the new offensive. Operation Agni Kheela-1 pre-empts a situation in which these armaments and ammunition could be a decisive factor in the inevitable march down south to EPS.

The operation was said to be "aimed at consolidating security forces control over areas captured during Operation Kinihira IX Stage 2 and further expanding southwards".

According to Military Spokesman Brig. Sarath Karunratne, initially the LTTE had stood its ground and resisted the strong assault launched by the Army on its forward defence bunker line, with small arms and stand-off weapons i.e. RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenades) and GPMG (General Purpose Machine Gun) fire. However the Multi Barrel Rocker Launchers (MBRL's) barrages and direct fire from the advancing armour compelled the LTTE to withdraw to a second prepared defence line, some two km's towards Pallai.

The advancing troops were considerably delayed by large number of Anti-Personnel Mines (mostly Johnny Battas) which took a heavy toll of the infantry. Military sources that these anti-personnel mines accounted for about 50 casualties.

Having fallen back, the LTTE unleashed their 'fire storm', a most effective tried-and-tested tactic, forged in the battlefields of Sathjaya, Jayasikuru, Rivikirana and Kinhira. Guaranteed to stop the strongest assault, LTTE artillery and mortars 'rained' down on the Army causing heavy casualties. Two Officers and 30 other ranks were killed in action and about 180 wounded. Majority of the casualties resulted from this 'fire-storm'. The military claims to have killed 75 terrorist and wounded over 300 on the first day of this new round of fighting.

The Sri Lanka Air Force Kfir and Mig-27 jets flew Close Air Support missions attacking LTTE gun positions and fortifications, while the Navy intensified its patrols along the coast between Nagar Kovil and Mullaitivvu, in order to prevent the LTTE from reinforcing or re-supplying their cadres in the peninsular, from the sea.

The first day's advance was halted around 1430 Hrs (2.30 p.m.) and troops hunkered down consolidating the newly captured area, while engineering troops commenced clearing the area of mines and improvised explosive devices/booby traps building defences.

A planned second leg of Agni Kheela 1 was called off the following day, in order to allow army sappers to stealthily clear the ground ahead of the newly established defences. Fighting patrols and Observation Posts were deployed ahead of these defences, however, reports indicate that front-line LTTE cadre have withdrawn leaving only second-line units to harry and delay the advance, depending more on their artillery and mortar 'fire storms' to delay and retard the army's advance.

On Thursday 26, while troops were strengthening their defences, LTTE artillery and mortars continued to 'rain down' on the army, taking a heavy toll. On the second day of the operation, a further 55 soldiers were killed and 140 wounded mostly due to artillery, mortar and anti personnel mines.

The military also carried out several sweeps of the newly captured areas to flush out small pockets of resistance and to search for arms and ammunition which may have been left behind or stashed away for use by terrorist infiltrators who are said to operate behind the army lines long after the LTTE withdraws from the areas captured by the military.

Meanwhile, away from the battlefront, CID arrested a flight lieutenant and three other ranks; a sergeant, a corporal and an airwoman in connection with a large scale racket in which tickets on the Air Force Helitours - civilian transportation service to Jaffna without clearance certificates from the Ministry of Defence (MOD). The four airforce personnel operating from the Helitours office in Bambalapitiya are alleged to have issued an average of six tickets a day on the above basis charging Rs. 10,000 from each such illegal traveller.

Generally, 36 civilians are permitted to travel daily to Jaffna, once security clearance has been obtained from the MOD. The extra money obtained had been shared among the four suspects. 67 cases of such illegal travel has been so far detected since February this year, according to CID sources and investigations are continuing to determine if there is a connection with an intelligence report of an LTTE plan to attack a Helitours civilian flight between Colombo and Jaffna. In August last year, following the induction of the Mig 27 'Flogger' ground attack jets, a SLAF claim of having completely destroyed the Chalai Sea Tiger base, was flaunted in headlines by the state media (Daily News of August 10, 2000). "The attack was highly successful," the SMIC press release added. However, intelligence reports confirm that the recent Sea Tiger craft which took part in the recent confrontations off the course of Mullaitivvu, had originated from the Chalai Sea Tiger base.

In another development concerning the Sri Lanka Air Force, it has come to light that Rs. 880 million has been budgeted, this year, to be spent on developing the Ratmalana Airport as a joint civilian and military airport. Another instance of hidden additional costs which inflates the publicised defence budget.

"Harbouring and Employing Deserters is a Criminal Offence" were the banner under which the Sri Lanka Army spelt out in an intensive publicity drive in the media of the provision under the Penal Code, that under Section 133;

"Whoever knowingly or having reason to believe that an officer of soldier in the Army of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, has deserted, harbours such officer or soldier, shall be punished with imprisonment or either description for a term which may be extended to two years, or with a fine or both."

Not forsaking the above, it is reported that a private security company owned and operated by a sibling of a high official in the defence ministry had deployed serving troops from a special forces regiment in the uniform of his security company in the Pettah and other locations in the run -up to the Sinhala and Tamil New Year period. According to retail trade sources in the Pettah is a time in which all shops have special festive season sales etc., and most shops take on the services of private security agencies.

It is a well known fact that army deserters are in the employ of private security agencies and particularly those companies with political patronage employ such deserters openly and with impunity. An entire platoon of army deserters are said to have been employed by one such guard company and their very first deployment is supposed to have been to 'secure' the election campaign in the hill country. Another favourite billet of army deserters, are the security details of ministers, deputy ministers and politicians. Even big businessmen with 'connections' are said to be employing military deserters as their bodyguards.

According to police sources, criminal activity by deserters is not restricted to those in the underworld.

Muzamil asserted that the only difference is that the security situation in and around Colombo has been strengthened after the rebel truce ended this month. He pointed out however that Sri Lankans have been through this phase before and it is nothing new.

Speaking on the mentality of Sri Lankans, Muzamil reiterated that Lankans are generally easy-going and very forgetful of previous experiences. "We tend to look at solutions only in the short term as does the government too," he said.

He explained that the nation could not pin too much hope on peace talks as the rebels have previously continuously reneged on negotiations with the government of the day.

Muzamil further asserted that while there may have been some "positive moves by the present government to initiate peace talks with the Tigers, there has been none from the LTTE. He dismissed the rebel truce claiming that it is not know what motivated the LTTE into initiating a cease fire and when results were not forthcoming the LTTE ended the truce.

The top businessman sounded disillusioned when he said that present moves to facilitate a peace process "should be taken with a pinch of salt as none of the conflicting parties are genuinely and sincerely committed to resolving this crisis."

Rienzie T Wijetilleke, Managing Director, Hatton National Bank, was reluctant to speak on the present political situation in the country. He finally asserted that if a semblance of normalcy can be maintained in Colombo, enough to attract investors and tourists, whether the LTTE initiated or broke a cease-fire was immaterial.

Wijeytilleke claimed that an important factor was to strengthen security in Colombo, and convince investors that it was safe to conduct trading in the city.

He added that since Sri Lankans have been exposed to a war situation since 1983, it was of little consequence now if the LTTE chose war or peace. He reiterated however that while the LTTE truce was a "bonanza" it does not mean the non-existence of a truce will have serious implications on the economy on business community in Colombo.

He pointed out that the recent cricket tour of the English team in Sri Lanka was a clear indication that if normalcy can be maintained in the city capital, irrespective of a war situation in the Island's north-east, tourists would continue to visit the capital and southern districts. The recently concluded cricket tournament between Sri Lanka and England resulted in some 8000 British fans visiting the Island in order to cheer Britain's national cricket team.

Wijeytilleke reiterated that recent developments with regard to the peace process suggested the government is sincere in finding a solution to the conflict situation. He declined however to comment on the LTTE's stance or sincerity in ending the war.

Dr. Bandula Perera, Chairman for the Ceylon National Chamber of Commerce is very disappointed at the present turn of events. He is of the view that "if peace is fading away it will definitely have an adverse effect," on the business sector, the stock market and the entire nation.

For the stock market to " come in we need peace," he said, adding however that we have to be optimistic and not give up hope. The LTTE choosing to end their four-month truce with the government "will definitely have negative results on the entire nation and its administration," Dr. Perera said.

Dr. Perera further reiterated that both the LTTE and the government appear to be playing to "rules of their own" with regard to the peace process. "We can only hope, that the peace process will continue even if the pace has now been somewhat retarded," he said.

Dr. Perera maintained that unfortunately, recent initiatives by the joint forums of the chambers of commerce, which made certain recommendations to the government to ending the conflict in Sri Lanka has "not been taken up in the true sense."

Apart from one discussion on the recommendations with President Chandrika Kumaratunga, neither the government nor the main opposition United National Party have shown any interest in the proposals by the business community.

"Both sides seem to be more involved in problems of their own," Dr. Perera noted.

S. K. Wickremasinghe, Chairman for Sri Lankan Airlines, and the National Development Bank, reiterated that the ending of the LTTE truce will have some implications in the South mainly because of the increased expenditure the government is forced to incur in a war situation. "If this money could have been saved it would naturally have gone into development projects," Wickremasinghe pointed out. He was optimistic however that despite hostilities having increased between government troops and the LTTE, "this position would not seriously hamper the peace process." He referred to other conflict situations in the world where solutions have been negotiated even while the ground situation continues to be hostile.

Asked if he too is of the opinion that Sri Lankans in the south, irrespective of a war situation were immune to ground hostilities in the country's north and east, Mr. Wickremasinghe answered in the negative. "I do not agree," he said, adding, "we do not just continue with our lives. There are many development opportunities lost as a result not only in the south but in the north east too."

Ratna Sivaratnam, Chief Executive Officer for the Aitken Spence Group said the business community had been taken by shock when they LTTE ended their truce with the government. "It will certainly have an adverse impact on tourism if the Tigers expand their activities in the south as they did before," Sivaratnam observed, adding that a rise in military and rebel offensive's in the north and east will definitely affect the economy and in particular tourism in the country.

Since government expenditure on the war will also increase, not only the economy but the peace process will also now suffer a set back, he said.

" I don't know whether this is a shadow boxing exercise - I hope it is so," Sivaratnam asserted, explaining that perhaps both warring factions were even now involved in initiating a dialogue behind closed doors.

He reiterated that the business community should again get into motion and help strengthen the flagging peace process. Sivaratnam is of the view that while both the government and the UNP are committed to finding or wanting a solution to the conflict, the government may have some internal problems in convincing its coalition partners on the best possible strategy towards achieving that end.

Sivaratnam noted that despite recommendations being made by the business community to the government on certain steps which should be adopted to resolve the war in the north and east, no action has been initiated to take the recommendations seriously.

Sivaratnam said he could not read the minds of the LTTE and so it was impossible to ascertain how genuine the rebels are in ending the 18-year-old war.

M. J. Amarasuriya, President, for the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) voiced a similar opinion to his business colleagues stating that he did not think the situation has changed drastically after the LTTE ended their one-sided truce with the government.

"Although the LTTE had declared a cease-fire they were still carrying out activities in the north east," Amarasuriya pointed out adding however that there was "no turbulence in Colombo."

"Basically as long as Colombo is not affected, I cannot see a resumption of hostilities in the north and east having any significant effect on the economy," he said. As far as the northern and eastern regions are concerned, Amarasuriya asserted that the situation has continued for so long that there is never a cessation of hostilities as even during a truce offensive's are carried out not only by the military but by the rebels too.

Voicing his opinion on the peace process, Amarasuriya claimed that it is not yet certain how far the process will continue as the LTTE have now laid down pre-conditions to talks with the government. "The Government however I believe is sincere in finding a negotiated solution to the present crisis," Amarasuriya said.

Nahil Wijesuriya - Chairman of East West Group of Companies said "We see the governments stand of the LTTE precondition of a ceasefire, and the ceasefire itself a white elephant. We in Colombo are not affected and infact business is booming and has bene over the last twenty years. Life goes on as usual and through the cost of living has increased tremendously, we as businessmen are not badly hit. This is because we don't tolerate outside interference, or foreign investors. Our dividends have been escalating and overall turnover has been good. However, privatisation and politicisation with international investors must be stopped. Lest they monopolise the situation and we sell ourselves to foreign bodies who have probably ulterior motives.