EDITORIAL

The PA-JVP pact seals the door to peace

The past week has been characterised by a plethora of contradictory statements from the two partners comprising Sri Lanka's new regime. The unveiling of the Memorandum of Understanding between the People's Alliance (PA) of President Chandrika Kumaratunga and the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) revealed the substantial concessions the latter has extracted in exchange for its Parliamentary support for the former.

No sooner had the MoU been made public, the PA fell over itself trying to play down the staggering implications of the pact's clauses - while the JVP contradicted the PA on each matter. The PA said the new regime was not a "probationary" government. The JVP insisted it was nothing but. The PA said the IMF-stipulated state privatisation would not be constrained.

The JVP - and clause 8b - said it was terminated. President Kumaratunga and Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar argued the pact did not block the peace process. The JVP said it most certainly did. Sri Lankans could have been forgiven for wondering if both parties were working off the same document.

A study of the MoU makes it clear that, despite the PA's protestations, the JVP's anti-West and anti-globalisation polices are enshrined in the new pact. Which makes the government's song and dance last week about a revived peace process a particularly hypocritical act of misdirection.

Whilst much southern attention was focussed on the financial undertakings and reforms of governance, the Tamil community was mainly interested in the implications the union between the Sinhala parties held for the island's prospects for peace.

That talks had been rendered impossible was clear from clause 20. The PA has undertaken, for one year, "not to bring [forward]…proposals for devolution of power or any other proposals that may lead to a controversy." Controversy, as defined by the PA and JVP - and the rest of the Sinhala far right, means anything short of a unitary state.

Power sharing with the Tamils has not only been ruled out, the notion itself is not to be entertained. In all reality, there had been little reason to believe matters could have been otherwise. The JVP has never wavered from its committed opposition to power-sharing and foreign involvement, and the PA still hopes for military victory over the Tamils.

While last week Kadirgamar danced a tattoo for the benefit of the international community, insisting he was talking to the Norwegians about reviving their initiative and even piously claiming his government was contemplating a unilateral truce, most Sri Lankans were resolving themselves to the continuation of the war.

The Norwegian initiative has problems of its own. Oslo's sidelining of its Special Envoy, Erik Solheim, at Sri Lanka's behest and without informing or discussion with the LTTE has thrown a spanner in the works. The LTTE insists Solheim, who has indefatigably striven for two years to bring about talks in Sri Lanka, be reinstated if Oslo's initiative is to stand a chance of resuming.

Close observers of the Norwegian involvement are aware that Solheim's downgrading was sought simply because he once publicly corrected Kadirgamar on the (lack of) progress of the talks. The Sri Lankan Foreign Minister's vanity and vindictiveness derailed the Oslo initiative, even before the JVP's Clause 20 sealed the prospects for peace. The LTTE's continuing proscription in Sri Lanka is another obstacle.

The JVP's smug contention that they are not opposed to peace per se - talks are fine provided the LTTE gave up its fight for Eelam - merely underlined the absolute impossibility now of a negotiated settlement. So the Liberation Tigers' response this week was particularly telling.

Anton Balasingham, the LTTE's chief negotiator and political advisor told us that clause 20 of the PA-JVP pact had to be annulled before negotiations can be possible. In particular, he stressed that the Tamil people's destiny lay in their own hands: if the Sinhala parties were not prepared to share power, the Tamils "will be left with no choice other than to seek their own path to liberation." As those seeking stability in Sri Lanka are well aware, resolving the island's conflict is the fundamental pre-requisite for that, not Kumaratunga's political longevity.

Despite lofty statements of commitment to a negotiated settlement in Sri Lanka, the international community has failed to support Norway's initiative and Erik Solheim. Sri Lanka's recalcitrant efforts to avoid genuine negotiations have failed to invoke international censure. Funding and assistance has continued to be extended despite Kumaratunga's shedding of every democratic norm. The end result is a power structure in Colombo that has rigged the country for renewed war.

Small Fry

Indian poachers are not the main problem for Tamil fishermen

The World Bank's Sri Lanka director, Mariana Todorova, was out and about last week, briefing reporters on her recent visit to Jaffna. One of her main concerns was that fishing boats from Tamil Nadu were moving into the waters teeming with fish and prawns off the island's northern coast.

Apparently, the sight of eight Indian trawlers had made a deep impression on the Director. Granted this is a problem. But the matter must be seen in context. In what is either a particularly striking case of not seeing the wood for the trees, or a deliberate obfuscation of the truth, Todorova seemed more concerned about the pilfering of a few fish by some opportunistic Indian fishermen than the devastation of the Tamil fishing community in the north and east, including Jaffna.

It is clear that the ban on fishing has, over the years, condemned an entire generation from the fishing families to soul-destroying poverty. Apart from the immediate loss of both food and revenue, the traditional skills of these families are not being effectively passed to the youth, threatening their economic future. Sri Lanka's ban on fishing and the ruthless persecution of those who dare to put to sea to feed their starving families, is more deserving of Todorova's -and the World Bank's - concern.

Sri Lanka's protestations that the ban is needed to curb the activities of the Liberation Tigers' naval wing is duplicitous. The Sea Tigers' steady and substantial growth - over the duration of the ban - is self-evident. Furthermore, if the northeast waters are anyway littered with Indian fishing boats, as Todorova says, then surely the Sri Lanka Navy's justification for the ban on locals is specious.

When, in the wake of her less than astute conclusions of the economic dynamics in Jaffna, Todorova says the World Bank is trying to activate social and economic programs in the region, cynicism amongst the Tamil community is inevitable. Even ignoring the super power politics which drive World Bank activities, its record in Sri Lanka leaves considerable room for suspicion of its motives. In particular, having largely ignored the plight of the Tamil community for some considerable time, Todorova's recent rush of activity in Jaffna stands out. To put it simply, the question to be asked is: why now, Ma'am?

Flow Chart

Ethnic politics drives international aid for drought

The drought that has gripped Sri Lanka has caused widespread suffering, with people and livestock left desperately short of water. Those fortunate to live away from the directly affected areas are impacted by the electricity shortage. However, while the drought is indiscriminate, relief is decidedly not.

As thousands of Tamil families in the northwestern Vanni endure the same agony as those in the south - or worse, given the government's blockade on water purification tablets and drugs waterborne diseases, their Sinhala counterparts are blessed with the support of the local press and of course the government.

As the Sinhala community demands action, we note the haste with which international aid is being extended as a result to the south, whilst those in the north are left to fend for themselves or perish.

The Tamil Rehabilitation Organis-ation (TRO) is throwing all its available resources into the western Vanni coast, but malnourished Tamil children dehydrate in the pitiless heat while the staff of leading aid agencies shuttle between air-conditioned office and vehicle. Ethnic bias in Sri Lanka does not originate from the Sinhala government alone.