This is recommended reading from the SLDF webmaster. These columns are republished from Daily Mirror
SLDF does not necessarily endorse the views expressed in the recommended readings.
Hopefully our readers may find the articles useful.
November 22, 2005: After the Presidential Elections: A wake-up call to all
June
21, 2005: JM, P-TOMS, TRC or “WHATEVER”:
The fear of the unknown
January 4, 2005: After tsunami: Linking peace building with reconstruction
9th August, 2004: The Troubled Peace Process – Time for a Reality Check
2nd August, 2004: July 1983 Pogrom – An Historical Apology
July 26, 2004: Unethical religious conversions: Is there a role for legislation?
July 12, 2004: Colombo Suicide Blast – LTTE denies and Government ponders
July 5, 2004: Forgotten Children of War: Whose Responsibility?
June 28, 2004: The `Karuna Factor’: A Challenge or Obstacle to the Peace Process?
June 21, 2004: An Emerging Proxy War via the Media?
June 14, 2004 Chandrika-TNA Talks – Cautious Optimism
June 7, 2004: Duplicity in Killings
May 31, 2004: Sole Representative
– Much
Ado About Nothing!
May
24, 2004: Core Issues or ISGA?
– A Classic Case of a False Question!
May 17, 2004: Some Lessons from the two General Elections across the Palk Strait
May 10, 2004: Recommencement of the Peace Process – Continuity or Change?
May 03, 2004: Resumption of Norwegian Role: A Reassessment
April 26, 2004: Reassertion of Tamil Nationalism – A Time Bomb!
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January 4, 2005: After tsunami: Linking peace building with reconstruction By Satiya Reports of Sinhalese volunteers, from districts adjoining the North-East and elsewhere, streaming into the affected areas to give relief and succour to their Tamil and Muslim brethren is reflective of the sentiments in the south. There were also reports of security personnel in the North contributing 300 pints of blood to the Vavunia base hospital. Further, the statements issued by the Presidential Secretariat and the Peace Secretariat calling on the LTTE to join hands with the Government in a concerted and coordinated effort at overcoming the calamity were timely. Tsunami, which washed away lives and wrecked havoc on properties and sources of livelihood regardless of religion and ethnicity, has undoubtedly contributed to the bonding of human relations across the ethnic divide. As President Chandrika Kumaratunga reflected in her address to the nation, "the tsunami has devastated our land with relentless indifference to regions, provinces, ethnicities and religions and all other man-made frontiers". Reports of Sinhalese volunteers, from districts adjoining the North-East and elsewhere, streaming into the affected areas to give relief and succour to their Tamil and Muslim brethren is reflective of the sentiments in the south. There were also reports of security personnel in the North contributing 300 pints of blood to the Vavunia base hospital. Further, the statements issued by the Presidential Secretariat and the Peace Secretariat calling on the LTTE to join hands with the Government in a concerted and coordinated effort at overcoming the calamity were timely. These sentiments were also reciprocated by the head of the LTTE's political wing, S.P.Thamilselvan following his meeting with the Norwegian Ambassador. He is reported to have said that "this new tragic situation has laid the foundation for both parties to come together and work towards closing the division between the two parties. The LTTE is very happy and encouraged by the government's offer and this would help break the rift between the two parties". But there have been other reports which are deeply disturbing. Reports of the LTTE preventing relief operations in areas under their control, the seizure of relief items from relief convoys elsewhere and the stage-managed protest against the visiting Government delegation headed by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse in Jaffna and Valvettithurai once again reveals the innate hegemonic trait of the LTTE that nothing can move in the North-East without passing through it. Further, the puerile and infantile attitude of the TNA Members of Parliament in boycotting the national efforts initiated by the Government has only served to bring disrepute to the Tamil people who are only too willing to share their grief and succour with their Muslim and Sinhala brethren. Likewise, the Government should ensure that politico-military strategy and agenda is not introduced into relief efforts in the North-East and that the sole driving force should be its responsibility as a government to its citizens irrespective of class, caste and ethnicity - not to mention politics. There are similarly shocking reports of vultures in the south swooping on the relief items being sent to the North-East. In particular there seems to be an organized move by certain Sinhala extremists' forces in Trincomalee to prevent supplies sent by TRO from reaching the besieged and the suffering people of the North-East. Although it is known that TRO is an arm of the LTTE that is no reason for preventing it from engaging in relief and humanitarian work. That these vultures are also swooping down on their own people in the south by stealing jewellery items and other valuables from the deceased victims of Tsunami is another matter. In all this gloom and agony left behind by Tsunami, perhaps there is a silver-lining as is the case with most disasters. The Tsunami waves may have in fact rolled back the war clouds by venting its fury on the naval infrastructure of the security forces and the LTTE in Jaffna, Mullaitivu and Trincomalee. Yet another factor that would make both the LTTE and the GoSL think twice, if not ten times, before embarking on or provoking hostilities is the combined might of national and international opinion following the Tsunami horror. As far as national opinion is concerned, the sheer weight of the tragedy, the immediate priority relating to relief efforts and the magnitude of the future task of reconstruction will surely make the people, irrespective of their ethnicity, rise up against any military adventurism by their sole or democratic representatives. As far as international opinion is concerned, any move by the two parties to resort to war mongering and sabre rattling will lead to both the Government and the LTTE being reduced to a pariah status. The LTTE in particular which prior to the tsunami had intensified its conscription drive and appear to be continuing after tsunami by exploiting the vulnerability of the survivors and the displaced should take note. But this alone is not sufficient if one is to ensure that the task of relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction of the war-ravaged areas that stalled because of the stalemate in the peace process, as well as the challenge of relief and reconstruction of the areas ravaged by Tsunami is to proceed without threats of war breaking out. Firstly, the LTTE or its proxies the TNA should immediately join the Special Disaster Management Task Force set up by the President in the national effort at providing immediate relief to the people affected, salvaging the destruction caused by Tsunami and taking forward the task of reconstruction. Such a move in addition to benefiting the besieged and suffering people in the North-East would contribute to confidence-building measures and allay any distrust and suspicion in the South as regards LTTE's motives and intentions. The Government should reciprocate by giving priority to the establishment of an interim authority for the North-East with due pride of place to the LTTE, while guaranteeing pluralism. The LTTE, similarly, should take the initiative in bringing to an end the bloody internecine killings, which should be reciprocated by the coalition formed by Karuna following the split within LTTE. Other Tamil political parties like the EPDP, EPRLF and PLOTE should be allowed to engage in relief and reconstruction activities in the North-East without hindrance by the LTTE in a spirit of cooperation and fraternity. Secondly the Government and the LTTE should jointly amend the ceasefire agreement (CFA) to remove the clause which allows the parties to withdraw from the CFA after giving two weeks notice and replace it with a moratorium against all forms of offensive military operations for a period of 4 years. In addition, the districts of Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi, which were excluded from the CFA in a misplaced exercise in creative ambiguity, should be brought within the ambit of the CFA. During this 4-year period all attempts should be made to go beyond the establishment of an Interim Authority for the North-East with pride of place to the LTTE, to the forging of a final constitutional and political settlement to the Ethnic Question that guarantees democracy, pluralism and power sharing based on self rule and shared rule. Simultaneously and parallel, all parties in the South should declare a moratorium against all forms of narrow partisan politics and strive to form an Interim National Government of Reconciliation and Reconstruction. An Interim Constitution may be considered for the purpose of institutionalising an Interim Authority for the North-East with pride of place to the LTTE, the abolition or reform of the Executive Presidential System and power sharing between the ruling coalition and the opposition during this period. A final and a comprehensive constitution that addresses all other areas relating to governance, including an equitable and a durable solution to the vital Ethnic Question, should be finalized before the completion of the 4-year period. A framework on Fundamental and Human Rights should inform the process from the outset. Thirdly the international donor community, based on the above commitments by the relevant actors and forces within Sri Lanka, should release the aid commitment totaling US$ 4.5 billion made at the Tokyo donor conference of last year without any delay. In order to ensure that the commitments by the Government and the LTTE are adhered to and funds distributed equitably, a group of countries representing the donor community as well as India may consider sending a Multi-National Peacekeeping and Reconstruction Force which would monitor and enforce the ceasefire agreement as well as assist in the task of reconstruction. Norway could concentrate on its role as the facilitator and not be burdened with the monitoring of the CFA which has proven to be ineffective and contentious in any case. What Sathya has spelt out above may sound out of the world. But so was tsunami till it hit us. Peace-building and Reconstruction, with international support and monitoring, need to go hand in hand. Further it needs no elaboration that Peace and Reconstruction are indivisible and cannot be confined to just one part of the country. What we need at this moment is imagination, creativity and singularity of purpose. Perhaps then we may still stand a chance. If not we are all doomed. Disasters, natural or man-made, can well lead to a new era of opportunities and equality for all peoples of Sri Lanka, if we so will collectively and act in unison. May we all face up to the challenge in the year 2005 and years to come with unity and purity in thought, word and action. January 4, 2005 [Previous:August 09] [Next: June 21, 2005]
2nd August, 2004: July 1983 Pogrom – An Historical Apology By Sathya Twenty-One Years after one of the most meticulously planned and executed state-sponsored pogrom in world’s contemporary history by the then President J.R.Jayawardene and his henchmen in the cabinet, the present Head of State President Chandrika Kumaratunga apologized to the Tamil people and the Nation. The occasion for this historic apology was a symbolic ceremony on Friday 23rd July at the Presidential Secretariat, where some of the victims of `Black July’ were awarded compensation, following the findings and recommendations of the Presidential Truth Commission. Although the setting-up of the Truth Commission under the PA Government a few years ago was dictated largely by partisan politics aimed at creating maximum embarrassment for the UNP and did not conform to the norms and practices of Truth Commission elsewhere, the apology by the President was unconditional and was by no means partisan. The operative section in her address needs to be etched in our collective memory, so that the barbarism demonstrated by the State and by the mobs mobilized by it for the purpose of terrorising the Tamil people into submission is never repeated. Sathya likewise wishes to etch these words in his column. To quote: “At least now I believe that I and we as a nation and especially the Sri Lankan State should come of age, look the truth in the face and make a national apology, first to all the victims of that day in Black July and then beyond them to the entire Nation. Perhaps it is the responsibility of the State and the Government to engage in that exercise first and foremost, and then all of us as the Nation, every citizen in this country should collectively accept the blame and make that apology to all of you here who are the representatives or the direct victims of that violence, and through you to all the other tens of thousands who suffered by these incidents. I would like to assign to myself the necessary task on behalf of the State of Sri Lanka, the Government and on behalf of all of us, all the citizens of Sri Lanka to extend that apology. It is late but I think it is still not too late”. The response on the part of the LTTE and their proxies in parliament was typical. For instance, S. Elilan Trincomalee District political head of the LTTE at a public meeting in Trincomalee in memory of the victims of the Welikada prison massacre in July 1983 is reported by the TamilNet website as saying, “We regard Sri Lanka’s President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s public apology for the 1983 pogrom against the Tamils as a deceptive attempt, driven by political expediency rather than principles to placate the Tamils”. The TNA parliamentarians present typically took the cue and in their speeches cast aspersions on the motives of Chandrika Kumaratunga. Sathya, who left the professional and social mainstream to join the Tamil National Movement precisely because of July 1983 pogrom, accepts the apology of the President unconditionally and without inhibitions. It was indeed an act of courage for Chandrika Kumaratunga to have articulated not only her sentiments, but the sentiments of the vast majority of the Sinhalese who were themselves horrified by the 1983 July pogrom. The burning of the Jaffna Library in 1981 and the anti-Tamil pogrom of 1983 which were entirely State-sponsored stand as symbols of eternal shame to the UNP. Sathya recalls the anger he felt when President J.R.Jayawardene and his key UNP cabinet ministers paraded before the TV after maintaining a deafening sound of silence for four long and bloody days of sheer barbarism by hoodlums and security personnel under the patronage of prominent UNP politicians. They in their statements simply ignored the traumatized Tamil People and instead sought the apology of the Sinhalese people for the shortages and long queues that had formed to buy bread because of the riots. The Tamils who had survived the carnage, of course, were either in refugee camps or too terrified to join any queues. Ranil Wickremesinghe was then a cabinet minister. He must acknowledge this, assume individual and collective responsibility, and apologise to the Tamil People if he is serious about reconciliation. Likewise, it would have been morally, politically and historically more correct had the President also referred to mistakes made by her Government as well as the party that she belongs to. The passage of the “Sinhala Only” Act of 1956, the attack on Federal Party MPs by hoodlums in Galle Face Green as they were staging a satyagraha facing the Parliament, and the heckling of these Tamil MPS as they walked into parliament with blood-drenched shirts by Sinhalese parliamentarians, including Prime Minister S.W.R.D.Bandaranaike, the anti-Tamil riots of 1956 and 1958, the discriminatory education policy under the guise of `standardization’ in the early 70s, and the indiscriminate arrests and incarceration in prison of Tamil youth political activists all contributed to the erosion of self-respect of the Tamils and the eventual resort to armed resistance by Tamil youths as a means of re-establishing that self-respect that their parents had lost. Sathya also recalls with regret the feudal ceremony that was conducted to celebrate the capture of Jaffna from the grip of the LTTE following Operation Riviresa in 1995. Although the Tamil People also abhorred the manner in which the LTTE engineered a forced exodus of civilians out of Jaffna during Operation Riviresa that led to immense deprivation and massive displacement of the people of Jaffna, it is clear that the public ceremony with Colonel Ratwatte walking up to President Kumaratunga to hand over the scroll announcing the capture of Jaffna was feudal, silly and pompous. It also hurt the sensitivities of the Tamil people, including those who bitterly resented the LTTE. Victories in battles are not something to be celebrated, since there are also defeats that may follow. That is the nature of War as the disastrous “War for Peace” campaign later revealed, when the State lost territory as well as manpower. Be that as it may, this is supposed to be peace times. Although, we are not in a post-conflict situation, the time for reconciliation is NOW. It is neither too early nor too late. In this context, the time has also come for the LTTE as well as other Tamil ex-militant organizations which entered the democratic mainstream, to extend an apology to the Sinhala and Muslim Peoples for attacks against innocent civilians and ethnic cleansing that took place in the name of “liberation”. The Anuradhapura massacre on Poya Day on May 14, 1985 when more than 150 pilgrims who had thronged the city were mowed down and the ethnic cleansing of the Muslims from the North, including massacres in mosques in the East, in the 90s although carried out by the LTTE are just two of numerous such atrocities that were carried out by the LTTE and other Tamil militant organizations. They, in the same manner that President Kumaratunga extended an apology on the part of the State as well as all Sri Lankans for the 1983 July pogrom, owe the Sinhala and Muslim Peoples an unconditional apology on behalf of the Tamil People in whose name these atrocities were committed. In any event, Sathya, a one time spokesperson and a member of the leadership of a Tamil politico-military organization which later joined the democratic mainstream only to soil its hands in that polluted stream, extends an apology to the Sinhalese and Muslim peoples. He expects his former comrades to do likewise. The lessons that Sathya learnt about the seeds of violence in relation to the ethnic conflict can be summed as follows. Firstly, the peaceful and non-violent forms of struggle against institutionalised discrimination by the State may not have taken a violent form if not for the use of violence by the State to crush these non-violent and democratic forms of struggle. The ethnic conflict may well have become protracted and intractable. But, it was the violence unleashed by the State to crush all forms of dissent that led to the ethnic conflict itself becoming violent. Secondly, the victims of violence soon become the mirror image of the perpetrators of violence. That is what happened to Tamil militancy. It began to acquire the ugly face of the State that it was fighting against. The lesson that Sathya learnt (or is in the process of learning) on the seeds of peace and reconciliation can be summed as follows. While the past must be addressed in order to reach the future, the present is an all important key to reconciliation, since it is in the present that the past ends and the future begins. Let us acknowledge the past, but not get bogged down in it. Let us rectify ourselves in the present and envision a better future, since the future is always carved out in the present. To be overburdened by both the remorse of the past and the anxieties of the future only lead to a state of paralysis. In sum, let us walk hand in hand in the collective endeavour of making this island of ours one country that belongs to all, while recognizing the full richness of our respective ethnic, religious and cultural diversities. It is not utopia. It is the only existential path to survival. 2nd August, 2004 [Previous:July 26] [Next: August 09] |
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July 12, 2004: Colombo Suicide Blast – LTTE denies and Government ponders By Sathya Yet another female suicide bomber attained martyrdom and entered the famed photo gallery of Black Tigers by blowing herself up after having failed to get her target Douglas Devananda, the leader of EPDP and cabinet minister. The LTTE, promptly and predictably, denied responsibility, condemned the suicide attack and blamed it on “some elements who are working to disrupt peace efforts”, aimed at confusing the “people who are hoping for peace and disrupt the prevailing environment”. The LTTE in short said all the right things in public with the Canadian Foreign Minister giving the denial credibility by proclaiming that, “No person or group has claimed responsibility for this deplorable act. I urge all parties to refrain from casting blame while an investigation is under way”. It was as though the Canadian Government’s intelligence services never really knew that the LTTE never claims responsibility to suicide attacks and that martyrdom is bestowed and publicly proclaimed only after a period of time. But the targets are rarely admitted in public. The US Embassy, on the other hand, in its statement wagged its finger at the LTTE which was carried in the Government-controlled Daily News with screaming headlines. Contrary to the feigned wisdom shown by the Canadian Government, the statement issued by the US Embassy, obviously with clearance from the US State Department, said that “although no one has claimed responsibility for the bombing, the incident bears the hallmarks of an LTTE attack”. So, what has our own Government got to say as to who is responsible and why? Before Sathya turns his antenna in that direction, suffice it to say that the LTTE would certainly be disappointed if the Government actually believed its denial, since the suicide attack was in fact meant to be a message to the Government! The denial of the LTTE was of course for international consumption. Now, what would have prompted the LTTE to strike at that given time and at that particular target? The answer in Sathya’s opinion is that the hit on LTTE members in Batticaloa on Black Tigers Day on July 5, a day venerated by the LTTE in recognition of its martyrs (but, undoubtedly despised by the loved ones of the victims of Black Tigers and by those who see such suicide attacks as acts of cowardice by those who order it), it was just a matter of time that LTTE leader Pirabhakaran would order a retaliation to what was clearly a case of extreme provocation. It was a message to the Government in the language that the LTTE speaks and unfortunately thinks is the only language that its enemies understand. In this instance, it was the language of the suicide blast in the vicinity of the Prime Minister’s Office, a strategically located police station, three foreign missions and two ministries. The message was, literally speaking, loud and, figuratively speaking, clear. In short the message was that if the Government does not rein in Karuna’s hit squads or cease what the LTTE perceives as a “proxy war” waged through Karuna or in the name of Karuna, then it will strike. And, such strikes would not be confined to the Eastern theatre, but will reach into the heart of the capital city. If Douglas Devananda was targeted, it was a case of trying to kill two birds with one stone by also removing a threat to its `sole representative’ status. That Douglas Devananda had always been in LTTE’s hit list and will continue to be so is another matter. The Government clearly had no illusions about LTTE’s involvement when it issued a statement that “the perpetrators of this act show callous disregard for human lives and are reverting to violence as means of settling disputes”. Although the LTTE was not named, the reference to “reverting” to violence was an oblique reference to the LTTE. Yet, the Government could not get itself to even say that it had the hallmarks of an LTTE attack, while its political spokespersons have gone out of their way to say that even if it was the LTTE, the target was after all a Tamil political opponent and therefore not a matter of grave concern as far as the peace process is concerned. Every government of the day have this uncanny way of demonizing the LTTE when a war is on and having to dress the LTTE up as an angel or as an enemy of someone else, if it wants to talk to the LTTE. Why the devil cannot one speak to the demon? (Pardon the cynical pun, which has now become a habit to Sathya). Certainly, the LTTE does not come forward to negotiate with the Government of the day, because it sees it to be an angel? The pendulum swing from demonizing to evangelizing the LTTE is what makes successive Governments suspect in the eyes of the Tamil people as well as the international community, not to mention its own people – the Sinhalese. Sathya regrets having to refer to the Government in relation to ethnicity. But, that is precisely what the Governments have done by washing its hands off internecine and fratricidal killings within the Tamil community. This takes Sathya to two cases of black humour which invariably accompanies tragedy. The first is the wisdom displayed in sections of the Tamil media that since the suicide bomber wore a nylon suicide jacket, as opposed to the denim jackets normally worn by LTTE suicide bombers, that it could not have been the LTTE. And, another newspaper while carrying the caption that the LTTE denies responsibility, indicated in its second heading that the female accomplice of the suicide bomber and worked in the EPDP office in Jaffna. The implication was that the LTTE could not have done it. Somehow the Tamil journalists who either filed the story or gave those stories the loaded headings seem to think that the readers are so gullible to think that the LTTE is not capable of technological innovation by switching from a bulky denim jacket to a less conspicuous nylon jacket. Or, that LTTE does not know the art of infiltration. The other case of humour was the statement issued by the UPFA General Secretary Susil Premjayanth that “it was revealed in the police investigations that the sole intention of the suicide bomber was to kill Douglas Devananda’. So, the sole representative was after the sole alternative. That humour turned black when the Reuters quoted a Government spokesman of saying “It is the LTTE going after a political opponent. It is that and absolutely nothing else. It is resorting to violence to kill an opponent; it is not reverting to hostilities”. Clearly the Government was trying to neutralize the UNPs prankish campaign that peace was on the rocks and that the suicide bombers were back in Colombo in view the UPFA’s mishandling of peace process. Pirabhakaran must indeed be gnashing his teeth if he thought that the Government had not really got his message and may well be tempted to repeat the message. But, this time around it may not be a Tamil political opponent. But, coming back to the point, the several statements coming from politicians in the SLFP also revealed a lurking chauvinism that grips most southern politicians. This is manifest in the mindset that as long as Tamils kill Tamils, there is no problem. So, when the LTTE engaged in its orgy of political killings including the killing of Tamil intelligence officers during the UNP’s lap around the peace track, the UNP and the Colombo establishment turned a blind eye. It was after all a case of Tamils killing Tamils. Now, it is the turn of the SLFP taking a similar position. Some things do not change. Chauvinism is not always crude. It can be very subtle indeed, akin to the commonly heard refrain “some of our best friends are Tamils” or “some of our best friends are Sinhalese”. Sathya’s antenna never fails to go up when such patronizing statements are made. In fact, with such friends who needs enemies! In this case, the Sinhalese progressive are also not above guilt. In this context, Sathya wishes to reproduce a paragraph from his very first column titled, “Peace and Democracy are Indivisible” which was penned several months ago, but in another context. To quote: “It is forgotten by those well-meaning Sinhalese progressives who, perhaps as a result of their Sinhala “guilt”, see the LTTE as having given the Tamils their self-respect…. Those who speak eloquently today about the need to empower the LTTE in the process of transforming them were quite unconcerned when other Tamil ex-militant organizations were going through the painful process of transforming themselves in the face of continuing chauvinism by the State and adventurism on the part of the LTTE. The same applies to international NGOs who take the task of engaging the LTTE with a missionary zeal, but view with contempt those Tamil militant organizations which laid down arms and entered the democratic mainstream. It is about time that Sinhalese progressives and democrats, who give expression to a collective Sinhala `guilt’ by extending to LTTE the credit of giving the Tamil people their self-respect and dignity, do some soul searching. Their position is untenable and also contrary to the principles of Democracy, Human Rights and Peace. These principles cannot be realized and enjoyed in one of the part of the country, while the people living in another part are denied these cherished values which alone give meaning to human existence, dignity and self-respect.” Sathya’s stand taken then has become reinforced now in view of the utterances by spokespersons of the UPFA Government that the bomb blast in Colombo was no big deal, since the target was “only” a Tamil political opponent. 12th July,2004 [Previous:July 05] [Next: July 19] |
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June 28, 2004: The `Karuna Factor’: A Challenge or Obstacle to the Peace Process? By Sathya `Colonel’ Karuna is once again in the news, after his retreat and demobilization following the `Good Friday’ (9th April) putsch by the Vanni-based LTTE leadership against the Karuna forces in the Batti-Amparai region. The `news’ as revealed to the media by Karuna’s woman comrade Nilavini, who surrendered to the Vanni-based LTTE last week, is that the military-intelligence establishment provided Karuna, his family and some of his comrades protection in Colombo, a few days after the Good Friday offensive. Further, Ali Zahir Moulana a UNP National List Member of Parliament and a close confidante of Ranil Wickremesinghe, with equally close contacts with the Vanni-based LTTE leadership, revealed publicly that he had established contacts with Karuna at the request of LTTE Batti-Amparai leader Ramesh in order to escort Karuna and his comrades to Colombo as part of a deal aimed at offering Karuna an `exit’. He explained that he had done so on humanitarian grounds. Following these revelations Ali Zahir Moulana resigned his seat from parliament so as to save his leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and the UNP from any embarrassment. That the UPFA was going to seize the opportunity to embarrass the UNP was also evident in the press briefing by Media Minister Mangala Samarasinghe and the reportage in the State media institutions which went to town on the Ali Moulana-LTTE nexus (read UNP-LTTE nexus). The UNP (indirectly) and the LTTE (directly) , on the other hand, accused the UPFA Government of duplicity and adventurism in extending support to Karuna and that its action could threaten the peace process and the ceasefire agreement. This allegation was denied by the UPFA Government, although the Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera did not rule out the possibility of individuals in the military-intelligence apparatus of establishing contacts with Karuna. |