NEWS

PA-JVP pact is a serious blow to peace – LTTE

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) declared Monday that the formation of a probationary government with an alliance between the People's Alliance (PA) regime and the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Perumana (JVP) effected a serious blow to the peace process in Sri Lanka.

Commenting on the current political developments in Colombo, Mr. Anton Balasingham, the LTTE's chief negotiator and political advisor told the Tamil Guardian that one of the clauses of the 'Memorandum of Understanding' reached between the PA and the JVP strictly forbids any discussions on proposals relating to the solution to the Tamil national question.

Asked about the recent statements made by President Chandrika Kumaratunga and the Foreign Minister, Mr. Lakshman Kadirgamar claiming that the PA-JVP agreement would not affect the peace talks with the LTTE, Mr. Balasingham dismissed such claims as 'utter nonsense'.

"Clause 20 of the MOU clearly states that proposals for devolution of power and any other proposals in relations to a political solution to the Tamil national question should not be taken up for discussion during the probationary period of one year. Is there any meaning and purpose in entering into a peace process if we cannot discuss any proposals for a negotiated settlement?" Mr. Balasingham asked.

"The truth is that the PA-JVP agreement has made the peace talks an impossible task. The utterances made by the President and by the Foreign Minister Mr. Kadirgamar are simply propaganda stuff intended for the consumption of the international governments who are disillusioned with the unholy matrimony between a corrupt, weak government and the orthodox Marxist diehards who are opposed to peace and international facilitation", he said.

"Neither the PA nor the JVP have a coherent vision with regard to a permanent solution to the ethnic conflict and the civil war that has torn the country apart. Operating with mutually contradictory ideologies the new partners of this probationary administration have articulated conflicting views on the Tamil question. While PA professes vague notions-ns of 'devolution' the JVP entertains a utopian ideal of 'equality for all'. But neither of them is prepared to discuss the core demands of the Tamil people that underlie the Tamil national question," Mr. Balasingham said.

"We have repeatedly stated that it is the Tamil people who have to ultimately decide their own political status and destiny, not the Sinhala political parties who assume power in Colombo. If there is no Sinhala consensus on the core demands of the Ta-mils as enunciated at Thimpu talks the Tamil people will be left with no choice other than to seek their own path to liberation", Mr. Balasingham explained.

On the question of invoking the Norwegian peace initiative Mr. Balasingham blamed President Kumaratunga and Mr. Kadirgamar for marginalizing and downgrading the Norwegian chief negotiator Mr. Solheim thereby causing a deadlock in the Norwegian effort. "Sri Lanka has killed the Norwegian peace effort simply because of a pathological suspicion that the peace envoy was partial and favourably disposed towards the LTTE. It was a grave diplomatic blunder. Such unilateral interventions by one party in tripartite relations are totally unacceptable to us. Norwegian facilitatory process can only be resurrected by re-instating Mr. Solheim as the chief negotiator", the LTTE's political advisor commented.

Mr. Balasingham further said that the Kumaratunga government is eager to initiate the peace talks as a desperate effort to overcome the current politico-economic crisis but not with the sincere intention of resolving the ethnic conflict through negotiated political settlement. "In its desperation the government seems to be contemplating declaring a unilateral cease-fire. Such measures will not be viewed as an act of good faith but rather as a ruse to implicate the LTTE with the ultimate motive of demonising it as the villain of peace."

"If the government is sincere and serious about engaging the LTTE in a process of negotiations, it should take measures to annul Clause 20 of the PA-JVP agreement and create conditions of normalcy in the Tamil homeland for a specific period by totally lifting the economic embargo. As we have already stated, the government should also recognise the LTTE as the authentic representatives of the people of Tamil Eelam by de-proscribing our liberation movement", Mr. Balasingham said.

Editorial

UN calls for protection of children in war

In a just issued report to the United Nations Security Council, Secretary-General Kofi Annan recommends that the international community take concrete steps to protect children in war-affected areas, said the U.N. website on Friday. "In the armed conflicts of recent years, children have featured centrally as targets of violence, and occasionally - even unwillingly - as perpetrators," the Secretary-General writes. "A large number of children have been directly affected by armed conflict, many of them uprooted from their homes and communities, maimed, or killed. Others have been made orphans, abducted, abused and exploited."

Among his proposals, Mr. Annan suggests the inclusion by the Council of provisions for monitoring children's rights within the mandates of peace missions. The report also calls for more attention to be paid to the impact of war on girls, an issue which the Secretary-General says is "particularly damaging for future generations."

Already disadvantaged in peacetime, girls undergo sexual abuse and enslavement during war, he says, urging that sexual violence against women and children continue to be prosecuted as a war crime. In addition, the report highlights the impact of HIV/AIDS on children in conflict situations and the role of truth commissions.

As signs that progress is possible, the report points to recent developments such as Rwanda's enactment of legislation that enables girls, including tens of thousands who became heads of households after the 1994 genocide, to inherit farms crucial to their survival, and Sierra Leone's establishment of a National Commission for War-Affected Children.

Humanitarian access in the Sudan has been improved, the text states, and Colombia has raised its age of recruitment into the armed forces to 18.

EU agrees apology for slavery

The European Union agreed Friday to a carefully worded apology for slavery, perhaps resolving one of two key issues deadlocking the UN conference against racism, the International Herald Tribune reported.

The eight-day U.N. meeting went into a ninth day when compromises on the two dominant issues - the Middle East conflict and the legacy of slavery - failed to materialize.

The United States and Israel had pulled out their delegations halfway through the conference due to anti-Israel language in the final declaration.

Muslim countries were considering whether to walk out of the conference because, they said, the criticism of Israel was too weak.

Mary Robinson, the UN high commissioner for human rights and the secretary-general of the conference, had said Friday morning that the likely final declaration from the conference would be nothing to get "very excited about" because of the compromises that would be needed to reach consensus, reported the International Herald Tribune.

"This is very difficult," Ms. Robinson said. "The great achievement will be to get an agreement at all."

Koen Vervaeke, the EU delegation's spokesman, said that the Europeans strongly rejected a proposed passage that labelled slavery and colonialism "crimes against humanity."

But, Mr. Vervaeke said, "There was a breakthrough on the notion of an apology," especially when it was determined that the wording would protect member nations from possible lawsuits seeking reparations.

When Mr. Vervaeke was asked if the accepted passage amounted to a European apology, he said, "Yes."

Under the slavery deal, the conference acknowledged slavery and the slave trade as a crime against humanity and "should always have been so."

It also expressed an apology in the form of acknowledgment for the wrongs of slavery and colonialism and offered a package of economic assistance to Africa.

World Bank says Indian boats exploit fishing ban

The World Bank Monday expressed concern that trawlers from neighbouring India were poaching in Sri Lanka's embattled northern waters while the island's own people were denied fishing rights by the Sri Lankan government.

The Bank's Sri Lanka director Mariana Todorova told reporters in Colombo Monday she counted eight Indian trawlers fishing in Sri Lankan waters off the islet of Delft during her visit to the region last month.

"I met the (Sri Lankan) commanding officers and showed them the pictures (of Indian boats) and expressed my concern," Todorova was quoted by AFP as saying, adding locals should have the right to fish and earn a living.

Fishermen have been restricted in Sri Lanka's northeast to make it easier for security forces to spot boats of Liberation Tigers.

However, the ban on local fishermen has opened the floodgates for hundreds of Indian vessels to enter the island's territorial waters and poach in rich prawn grounds, while devastating life for thousands of Tamil fishing families.

Hundreds of Tamil and Indian fishermen have been killed at sea in attacks by the Sri Lankan navy and air force. Dozens of Indian fishermen have recently been captured by the Sri Lankan Navy.

Sri Lankan fishermen have also been caught in Indian territorial waters.

Editorial

Economy uncertain amid Marxists’ demands

Mixed signals over the economic implications of the alliance between Sri Lanka's ruling People's Alliance and the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Perumana (JVP) continued as Kumaratunga's government maintained that the union would have no impact on the planned privatisations and current discussions with the International Monetary Fund, said press reports last week.

"The memorandum of understanding will not have an adverse impact on ongoing privatisation agreements," said Mano Tittawela, director-general of the state-run Public Enterprises Reform Commission, reported the Associated Press.

However, JVP legislator Wimal Weerawansa said the party has made it clear that the government should not divest the balance of state-owned shares in Sri Lanka Telecom which is fully controlled and partly owned by NTT of Japan reported AFP. "It is clear. There can be no further sale of Telecom shares during the one-year probationary period to which we have confined the government," Weerawansa told AFP.

The government has been selling public enterprises to fill the burgeoning Current Account gap, caused by the countries exorbitant defence budget, the Associated Press said.

Sri Lanka's defence budget last year was estimated to be a staggering 7.50% of GDP last year as the Sri Lankan Armed Forces went on a spending spree in the aftermath of several defeats at the hands of the LTTE.

Sri Lanka has pledged to the IMF that it would raise US$ 275 million by way of privatisation receipts before December and the bulk of that money was to come from Sri Lanka Telecom shares. Failure to implement the privatisation could place the further disbursement of funds under the existing US$ 253 million facility with the IMF at risk.

The JVP has also made populist demands such as the writing off of loans to farmers in rural areas. This will place additional pressure on the fiscal commitments the Sri Lankan government made to the IMF.

In the aftermath of the attack on Katunayake Airforce Base and adjoining international airport, the Sri Lankan Central Bank revised their GDP growth forecasts for the year down to 3% from 4.5%.

However private sector analysts remain more sceptical. While the GDP growth rate for the first half of 2001 being just 1%, it would be necessary to revise downward the original forecast of 3% for the year given the sluggish economic conditions, says Chinkara Securities (Pvt) Ltd told the Island newspaper.

Dunn and Bradstreet (D&B), the international rating agency is considering downgrading Sri Lanka's risk rating from the current DB5c-to DB5d which denotes high credit risk and advises clients to limit their exposure to high return short term investments.

This revision was considered even before the Katunayake attack and the resulting shipping and tourism crisis.

D&B has already downgraded Sri Lanka twice during the year and this will undoubtedly deteriorate the foreign investor perception towards our capital market, said the Island

Sri Lanka mulls bond issue amid loan difficulties

Following the failure to reach an agreement on the terms of a loan facility between the government of Sri Lanka and global lending banks, Colombo has decided to attempt to fulfil its funding needs by issuing a dollar bond to local banks and expatriate citizens. The success of Sri Lanka's inaugural dollar denominated bond issue hinges on the government offering adequate returns to reflect the added risks that have recently shrouded the island-nation, primary dealers said, reported Dow Jones, Friday.

Heightened political risks and a weak economic outlook have made it virtually impossible for the country to avoid a low or even junk rating, if it were to seek one from one of the international agencies. It would be difficult for Sri Lanka to sell the bond internationally without a rating and it isn't seeking one, the government has said.

To get round the problem, it is mulling several options now, including appointing a lead arranger to structure the issue, carrying out the road show, and selling the bonds by issuing deposit certificates.

More likely, given its lack of a sovereign rating, is the possibility of offering the bonds through the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to primary dealers, which would in turn, sell them to local banks and foreign investors, including Sri Lankans living abroad.

The size, maturity and coupon of the bond haven't been set, H.M. Hemachandra, deputy director of the central bank's public debt department, told Dow Jones Newswires Monday. He did say though that the tenor is likely be for two years, and that the bond could be issued as early as October.

One primary dealer expects that "the bonds will have to offer (a yield of) at least two-to-three-percentage points above the two-year London interbank offered rate to factor in the risk and attract foreign investors."

A dealer affiliated to a local private bank said that investors may demand a yield of around 7% which is the cap that the government has put on a $200 million international loan syndication that it also has planned to launch, but which has now been postponed after the failure to reach an agreement with lending banks.

The market is expecting the total issue size of the U.S. dollar bond to be around $200 million, to be sold gradually in tranches of around $50 million each. Proceeds from the bond sale would go toward plugging the country's growing budget deficit.

India, Japan come to Sri Lanka’s aid

The Indian government has granted Sri Lanka a credit line of 100 million U.S. dollars which will be disbursed over a period of three years and allow the import of a large range of goods and services from India, according to the Bank of Ceylon, press reports said last week.

Food items such as sugar, wheat flour, rice, lentils and wheat grain are among the items that can be imported under the credit line. A wide range of consumer durables could also be imported under the scheme. The repayment period for these items is between one and three years with a reasonable grace period.

Among capital goods that can be imported are heavy machinery, lorries, buses, trucks, ambulances and tractors. The repayment period for these items is six years with a one year grace period. Computers, accessories and software packages and consultancy services are among other goods and services available through the credit line.

Meanwhile the Government of Japan has approved the allocation of Rs. 33.752 million under the Japanese Counterpart Grant Aid Fund to the National Fertilizer Secretariat of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Island newspaper reported. The fund is being provided for the construction and fitting-out of an Analytical Laboratory and for the purchase of laboratory equipment.

According to recent statistics, more than 90% of the national requirement for fertilizer is met from overseas. However, as yet there have been no dedicated facilities specializing in fertilizer quality control on these imports and there have been numerous complaints about quality from farmers and from the Department of Agriculture.

The Counterpart Fund under which this grant is being provided is aimed at economic and social development under an agreement between the Governments of Sri Lanka and Japan whereby Sri Lanka provides at least two thirds of the overall cost of the programme and Japan makes up the remainder.

This particular project has its origins in the unique assistance scheme for the Increase of Food Production.

Colombo cancels Deutsche loan

Sri Lanka has cancelled a deal to raise a 200 million-dollar loan syndicated by Deutsche Bank because the terms were unfavourable, the AFP reported last week quoting government officials. The government cancelled the loan deal and was now looking at several other options to raise much needed foreign currency, said Mano Tittawela, director general of the country's privatisation agency.

Last month, Treasury Secretary P. B. Jayasundera said the government was not willing to pay more than 7.0 percent interest to secure the financial package through Deutsche Bank.

Sri Lanka has been looking for international loans as the economy has slowed sharply following the Tamil Tiger attack against the country's only international airport in July.

The deal Deutsche Bank in Hong Kong had been trying to arrange was for a two-year transferable loan that had been scheduled for completion in August. It was outlined in the budget for 2001 in March as part of government measures to bridge a budget deficit expected to equal 8.5 percent of gross domestic product this year.

Central Bank officials have said the government was looking at raising funds through foreign currency-denominated bonds this year, but Tittawella declined to comment. "The government is considering various options," he said. Market sources said earlier this week the issue could raise anywhere between $100 million to $400 million and the tenure could be for two years or longer.

Calls for international aid amidst water crisis

The European Commission funded Dry Zone Agricultural Development Project (DZADP) of CARE in Sri Lanka has started to distribute 50 water tanks of 1000 I each in drought affected communities in the southern Hambantota District, the Island newspaper reported on Thursday.

"These tanks will ensure that the families will have better and more frequent access to drinking water.

It will expedite the current system of distribution through the trucks. Women and children will no longer have to wait besides the road until the truck passes.

This initiative could benefit 1,500 families on the very short term", Milton Batagoda, DZADP-CARE team leader in Hambantota, told the newspaper.

In its editorial on the same date, the Island newspaper called for further international assistance to combat the drought and associated power crisis. "With thousands already financially ruined and destitute, the government now has to appeal to the outside world for immediate assistance," the paper said.

"There is a limit to the period which power cuts can be extended. Soon it may spread to daylight hours too, bringing commercial and industrial activity to a halt", the Island said referring to the daily power cuts on the island due to insufficient reserves.

"Faced with this situation, the government should seriously consider raising foreign funds to hire private generators that could operate from barges in the sea. These funds should come from international lending institutions but whether the JVP that is expected to prop up this government will be agreeable to assistance from such institutions which they have been extremely critical of is another matter", the newspaper said.

The Island said that as speculation over further extended power cuts continue to grow, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) does not appear to have any alternative remedies at hand.

According to a CEB official, " any further improvement can only be made through a new power plant, which costs a lot of money, which the CEB does not have"

"The situation is getting worse" the official said pointing out that there has been no significant rain. The CEB is currently running it's thermal power stations to their maximum capacity the official added.

Another CEB source said that he saw no alternative to extending the power cuts at present if there was no rain. "We are in a very bad situation financially and otherwise" the official said further.

Sri Lanka seeks F-16s from Pakistan

Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunga is likely to ask Pakistan's President Musharraf for military planes, including US-built F-16 fighter bombers, helicopters and other military equipment "to meet [Sri Lanka's] urgent defence needs", when she meets Pakistani President General Musharraf during the UN General Assembly session, press reports said last week.

"She is eager to get three F-16 from Pakistan on lease; but due to some legal and practical difficulties, she is willing to go for alternatives like fighter aircraft manufactured with joint collaboration of China and Pakistan," Pakistan's 'The News' newspaper reported, quoting unnamed sources. The option of lease or purchase would be tabled once Pakistan responds in affirmative, it added.

The question of leasing the US made F-16 planes has two-fold obstacles, the paper said. "Pak-US agreement requires a US clearance for any such transfer of US manufactured planes to another country. In addition, the currently changing situation in South Asia and Pakistan's own defence needs do not allow Pakistan to spare any F-16 planes for use by Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka may opt for some used helicopters, Chinese fighter planes and other military equipment," the paper said.

Reporting from New York, the paper added that "though Pakistani and Sri Lankan diplomats would not confirm or deny the Musharraf-Kumaratunga meeting in New York, sources say that such a meeting between presidents of Sri Lanka and Pakistan is being finalised for a date prior to Musharraf-Vajpayee meeting on September 25."

The News newspaper belongs to the Jang Group, the largest English and Urdu Newspaper publication group of Pakistan.

PA - JVP pact shelves Norwegian peace initiative

THE STALLED Norwegian peace initiative suffered another serious setback last week following a crucial deal between the minority People's Alliance government and the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Perumana (JVP) in which the latter insisted that Oslo's role be terminated amongst other demands in return for parliamentary support.

The propaganda secretary of the JVP, Mr. Vimal Weerawansa told the Lanka Academic last Friday that as a policy his party was opposed to foreign third party mediation to resolve the island's ethnic conflict. Mr Weerawansa dismissed the current Norwegian initiative saying, 'these are not proper peace talks, but just discussions.'

The Marxists also want the military to continue fighting the Liberation Tigers and say they will only back peace talks if the LTTE gives up their demand for an independent Tamil state. The Tigers have in the past rejected such a precondition. Mr. Weerawansa told the Lanka Academic Thursday that the agreement must be implemented in full, adding that he would hesitate to abandon the deal if the government fails.

The JVP's comments contradicted President Chandrika Kumaratunga who said Thursday that there is no objections from the JVP regarding talks with the LTTE. Political analysts said that despite the government's insistence to the contrary, it has accepted the JVP's stipulation that the Norwegian peace initiative be terminated in exchange for the Marxists' support.

A clause in the Memorandum of Understanding signed on September 5 that sealed the alliance between the government and the JVP rules out any constitutional amendments for the devolution of power until it has received the approval of wide sections of society, including the Buddhist clergy

The alliance between the JVP and Kumaratunga's government has been blessed by the high priests of Sri Lanka's most powerful Buddhist clergy, the Island newspaper reported Friday.

The Mahanayake Theros of the Malwatte and Asgiriya chapters which are the influential sections of the Buddhist clergy conveyed their blessings to a joint delegation of the PA and JVP on Thursday, saying it was for the good of the country. Sri Lanka's Buddhist clergy has traditionally opposed peace talks with the Liberation Tigers and the devolution of powers to the Tamil community.

The JVP told the Lanka Academic that they had agreed to stabilise the government in response to the crisis facing the country. In an oblique reference to the UNP, Mr. Tilvin Silva, the JVP leader said had entered into the agreement in a bid to prevent "reactionary forces" with possible foreign support from toppling the PA government. The Marxist leader further said that the instability was benefiting 'separatist organisations.'

The main opposition United National Party (UNP) which is being supported by all the Parliamentary Tamil parties - save a paramilitary group - in its effort to topple the PA, reflected commonly voiced opposition sentiments Monday. "The JVP does not want the government to agree on peace talks. What is going to happen to the peace talks now?" asked A.H.M. Azwer, an MP of the UNP. "If there are no peace talks will the world have confidence in us?"

During its initial discussions with the PA a month ago, the JVP reaffirmed its Sinhala nationalist leanings. "Separatists should not be given any room to exploit this political crisis to their advantage," Wimal Weerawanse, Propaganda Secretary of the JVP said, explaining his party's readiness to support the government.

Over the past few years, much of Sri Lanka's polity and ethnic minorities have viewed the rise of the JVP with apprehension. It espouses a textbook version of 'Stalinist Marxism' and asserts that the main issue for Tamils is class oppression and not ethnic discrimination. The JVP has taken up the fundamental position that any devolution to the Tamil people will divide Sri Lanka.

Editorial

Tamils, Muslims slam deal as ‘foolish’

TAMIL and Muslim parliamentary parties in Sri Lanka criticised the government for blocking the Norwegian peace initiative by forming a year long pact with the Marxist Janaka Vimukthi Perumana (JVP) that is opposed to Oslo's mediation and any form of power sharing with the island's minorities. The leaders of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) and the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) said that the People's Alliance (PA) - JVP agreement would prevent a resolution to the most important issue facing the country as a whole, according to press reports last week.

Mr. V. Anadasangaree, TULF leader and parliamentarian described as 'foolish' the government's decision to enter into an agreement with the JVP. Speaking to the Hindu newspaper last week, Mr. Anadasangaree said, "I would say that it is the most foolish decision the President has taken since she came to power in 1994."

"Any undertaking not to deal with the most important national problem, the ethnic issue, is unwise," he said referring to the Government’s agreement not to enter into negotiations with the LTTE unless the latter rules out the possibility of a separate state, a demand which the LTTE has formally rejected as an unacceptable precondition.

The TULF position was echoed by other Tamil parties, which as joint coalition have for several months been lobbying international governments to pressure the Sri Lankan government to negotiate with the Liberation Tigers. "The JVP has the government over the barrel. With the government being reluctant to negotiate before [the political crisis], the JVP's conditions for support will make it difficult," a spokesman for the 11-party coalition told agency reporters.

Mr. Rauf Hakeem, the leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), told the Lanka Academic last week that all minority parties were 'deeply troubled' by the government's alliance with the JVP. The JVP has consistently opposed any resolution of the conflict that involves sharing power with minorities on the island, demanding a majoritarian centrist state run along Marxist doctrines. The deal would 'cripple all socio economic development in the country,' as it prevented the government seeking a negotiated settlement to the civil war, the Lanka Academic quoted Mr. Hakeem as saying.

Meanwhile the main opposition United National Party said that the new coalition would put the country into more trouble, TamilNet reported. "People would suffer immensely if the PA-JVP government is allowed to rule the country," said Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the UNP. He was speaking at the UNP parliamentary group meeting at the parliament complex, last week. He further said that "the People's Alliance, joining with the JVP could solve no burning issues confronting the country. Instead the country's instability will continue."

Opposition awaits defections, holds vote

SRI LANKA'S main opposition United National Party (UNP) last week postponed a no confidence motion against the ruling People's Alliance (PA) of President Chandrika Kumaratunga after the minority government secured the support of the Janaka Vimukthi Perumana while it waited for defections from the ruling party.

The Speaker of the House, Mr. Anura Bandaranaike, said at Parliament's reopening Thursday that the motion submitted by the UNP led opposition before Parliament was prorogued in July had now expired. A new motion with fresh signatures would have to be submitted, the Speaker said.

President Chandrika Kumaratunga reopened parliament a day earlier than planned having secured the support of the JVP's 10 parliamentarians to stabilise her government against threat of the oppositions no confidence motion. The government Thursday challenged the op-position to reintroduce the motion, confident that it would now be able to defeat it.

Following Kumaratunga's suspension of Parliament on July 10, the JVP had joined the campaign to re-introduce the no confidence motion. The party participated in a joint opposition meeting on August 17 at which it confirmed its commitment to the no confidence motion. At the meeting, that followed an initial round of failed PA - JVP unity talks, the party said, "We have also decided to bring forward the no - confidence vote against the government."

Following the completion of a JVP - PA Memorandum of Understanding last week, the opposition strength in parliament was reduced to a minority. However, the opposition has been emboldened by reports that several disgruntled ruling party legislators were ready to defect and is holding back for now.

The opposition wants to force a vote against the government after Kumaratunga prunes her cabinet from 44 to 20 members in line with her agreement with the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, or People's Liberation Front. The JVP also wants the number of deputy ministers reduced from 34 to 20. It means a total of 38 cabinet ministers and junior ministers will be out of jobs and the opposition is expecting some of them to defect. Kumaratunga has promised the JVP to slash her cabinet by Wednesday.

The independent Sunday Leader reported two weeks ago that fifteen PA parliamentarians including at least five ministers will cross the floor of the house and vote to defeat the government if the no-confidence motion is taken up for debate.

Anticipating the PA - JVP tie up the UNP and PA rebels had explored the possibility of defeating the government in parliament after the independent commissions on the elections, police, public service and judiciary are introduced in September, the Sunday Leader report said

"We have now begun collecting signatures for a fresh motion of no-confidence," said Saman Athaudahetti, a spokesman of the UNP told Reuters Friday.

No election for two years promises Kumaratunga

SRI LANKA'S President Chandrika Kumaratunge said that there wouldn't be any general election this year or next year, TamilNet reported last week. "Government officials should not think about a change of government in the near future. They must be prepared to implement all development projects already finalized in their areas," Kumaratunge told a group of government officials working in the North-Central Province.

Meanwhile the general secretary of the Janata Vimukthi Peramuna, Mr.Tilvin Silva, addressing a meeting at Borella junction, said his party would not join any capitalist party in forming a government. "The JVP has not agreed to form a government with People's Alliance. We have come to an understanding with the ruling PA to overcome the present political crisis and to hold a general election after one year under a caretaker government," said Mr.Tilvin Silva.

However political analysts said there was every possibility that the alliance would not survive for long. Kumaratunga can call new elections after one year of the current parliament, in this case, October 10.

Marxists’ policies dominate ‘probationary’ government

THE MEMORANDUM of Understanding signed by the Sri Lankan government with the Marxist Janaka Vimukthi Perumana (JVP) last week set out the conditions under which the minority PA administration secured itself against a possible no confidence motion, until the agreement expires on September 5 next year.

In return for Parliamentary support the PA agreed to: cancel the referendum; reconvene Parliament a day early; abolish the executive Presidency; implement key demands of the JVP in matters relating to the economy, democratic accountability and the ethnic conflict, within given deadlines, while obtaining "the prior concurrence" on "policy decisions or courses of action outside of these agreements that conflict with or have an effect contrary to them."

On the completion of the one year probationary period, the PA agreed to dissolve parliament and conduct "a free and fair election under the new electoral system and the care-taker Government that is to be set up." In the meantime, the government agreed to implement key reforms that would radically change the constitution, increase democratic accountability and safeguard against electoral malpractice.

The MoU committed President Kumaratunga's government to presenting before Parliament, "within six months from the date hereof amendments to the Constitution for abolition of the Executive Presidency and vesting executive power in Parliament and the formulation and adoption of an electoral system which ensures reasonable representation of all ethnic groups in Parliament and for holding of the General Election under a care-taker Government."

The agreement prevented any constitutional change that involved the "devolution of power or any other proposals that may lead to a controversy," until the government had obtained the consent of "all segments of society," through "wide ranging dialogue that …aimed at reaching a reasonable resolution of the national question."

Within a shorter time frame, the government agreed to set up independent commissions that would oversee the running of key state institutions and remove partisan bias used to manipulate election results. Independent bodies would be established to monitor the Judiciary, Public Serve, Police and Elections Commission by September 24. Legislation to establish an independent media commission would be established within six months of the agreement coming into effect.

In line with the JVP's Marxist economic doctrine, the Government agreed that for effective period of the MOU the government would enforce a freeze on reforms to liberalise the economy. The JVP demanded that the government withdraw all plans to "privatise public or social property such as water resources, banks, insurance ventures," and refrain from signing any new "trade agreements or financial agreements that could be detrimental to the interests of the country."

Concurrently the Government said it would reorient its economic policies to grant concessions to groups such as small farmers, the urban poor and students, who constitute the JVP's main support base and whom the Marxists claim have benefited least from economic liberalisation.

The PA agreed that it would take measures "to prevent rises of prices or cost of essential consumer commodities and services such as fuel, milk powder, sugar, flour, rice, drugs, electricity, gas, water, bus and train fares," while "taking action before September 30, 2001 to write-off loans given to farmers from the Maha season of 1999/2000 to the Yala season of 2001 at rates ranging up to Rs. 20,000/- to each (inclusive of the full amount of Rs. 20,000/-) for paddy and plantain cultivation."

The costs of these measures would be covered in part by the recovery of loans made for business purposes, and through austerity and financial transparency measures undertaken by government politicians. The PA agreed to appoint a "Task Force" that would supervise the recovery of "large scale business loans" within 3 months of the MoU becoming effective.

Personal austerity measures to be borne by members of the government and parliamentarians include: the voluntary remittance by the "President, Members of the Cabinet of Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Members of Parliament to the Consolidated Fund half their salary," while Kumaratunga agreed "not to incur any expenditure, during the one year period the Memorandum of Understanding is in force, on construction work on the President's House."

A further austerity measure demanded by JVP was that to impose ceilings on foreign travel by cabinet members and parliamentarians while banning the import of luxury vehicles for Ministerial use. While the PA insisted it had already implemented both these measures, the JVP also sought an immediate reduction in the size of the Government, committing the government to "restrict the number of Cabinet Ministers to 20 and appoint a corresponding number of Deputy Ministers… on or before 12th day of September 2001."

On condition of obtaining these demands the JVP agreed to "extend the necessary support to the continuance of the People's Alliance Government with stability in Parliament," for the period in the MoU is effective. However, the agreement gave both parties to exist the MoU in the "event of either of the parties not taking steps to carry out any of the several items agreed to, within the specified time frames, and if it is also not found possible for one party to negotiate and arrive at an agreement by prior notice in writing being given to the other party."

Children bear brunt of drought amid Vanni embargo

The shortage of drinking water caused by the drought that has hit Sri Lanka's west coast from Pooneryn to Mannar has compounded the problems caused by the lack of a health infrastructure, with dozens of infants falling ill, local health workers told TamilNet last week.

The scarcity of clean drinking water has led to alarming levels of diarrhoea and other diseases, especially among children and the elderly, as desperate people take water from unsuitable places. A two-year-old child from Pooneryn, Valaippadu village was admitted to Mulangavil hospital suffering from chronic diarrhoea, and consequently died there. On 6 September alone 17 other infants had been admitted to the same hospital with the same condition.

The medicine shortage due to the Sri Lankan government's long standing embargo on the Vanni means that hospitals are not prepared to counter and epidemic and aid workers expressed fears that many lives could be lost simply due to the lack of provisions to combat a large scale outbreak of the disease.

Children with diarrhoea being admitted is also a daily occurrence at Mallavi district hospital. The drought is at its severest along the western coast of Wanni. Villagers have been driven to desperate measures such as digging up riverbeds in search of water. Many villages on the eastern side of Mannar have no water tankers to supply them. The Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) has diverted all its drinking waters tankers to the stricken areas, but TRO sources say that they cannot even hope to meet the entire demand if rain doesn't come in the next few days.

Meanwhile, local education department sources in Kilinochchi have said that 1207 students have been classified as suffering from severe malnutrition in Kilinochchi's Kandavalai education sector. "The Sri Lankan government's economic embargo on the Wanni and the effects of war have been the primary cause for these children being affected; there educational achievements are also falling as a result", said department sources.

388 children at the Piramanthanaru School are severely malnourished, while over a hundred each are suffering from the same condition at schools in Murasumottai, Kattaikadu, Paranthan and Kalvettuthidal. One-hundred and twenty-five children at the Tamil Mixed School in Elephant Pass are also included in the list.

Meanwhile, reports from Karachchi district say 1465 students there are suffering from chronic malnutrition. Health workers in Wanni expressed their dismay at the prospect of already malnourished children facing a widespread drought as well. "While these figures showing that thousands of students being severely malnourished are bad enough, the reality is likely to be much worse. Many have been bombed out of their villages and simply do not have the luxury of going to school. Schools in areas where displaced people are concentrated are bursting at the seams and are simply unable to offer places to all children.

Many other children are working to make ends meet for their families and therefore would not have been accounted for in these figures" said a local aid worker in Kilinochchi. "The drought is only going to compound matters as these already weak children will be the first hit by diseases such as diarrhoea."

Tigers say recruitment rising

The Liberation Tigers' Batticaloa and Amparai district political leader, Mr. Karikalan, said this week that his organisation was drawing large numbers of new volunteers and denied press reports of forcible recruitment. In an interview with Tamil language Uthayan newspaper published Tuesday, Mr. Karikalan said many recruits were coming forward with the support and encouragement of their parents amid active participation from many villages in the LTTE's recruitment drive. "There is a firm belief amongst the people that the struggle will succeed. This has given us a fresh impetus."

"Many are joining our ranks due to the realisation amongst our people that armed struggle is the only avenue to win back our lost lands and rights," Mr. Karikalan said. "Large numbers of youth, male and female, have joined our ranks out of a sense of duty to the nation."

"The Sri Lankan forces, unnerved by this, have been spreading rumours that we are forcing youth to join us. These are malicious rumours spread by the military and the government media. There is no truth in this," he said.

"If we wish to forcibly recruit, we can capture a thousand youth in a day. But that will be of no benefit to our struggle. The struggle cannot be undertaken by kidnapping people, training them and then keeping them locked up. It will be foolish to forcibly train someone like that at great expense."

"We are campaigning of the need for the Tamil people to retake our own lands, to safeguard them and to live in freedom. The people are exploring ways to aid the struggle. They themselves are deciding how many from each village are needed to continue the struggle and are volunteering their youth to join the fighting ranks."

"We were deeply moved recently to witness parents bringing their children to enrol to fight. Mothers of Arasaditivu and Kokkadicholai have written a new chapter in the history of the Tamil struggle by their bravery."

"The thought that, rather than stay away from the struggle only to die by Sri Lankan military shelling, shooting and rape, it is better to save our country by becoming fighters to defeat the enemy and to safeguard our motherland has very much come to the fore."

Mr. Karikalan said the LTTE's strength was growing to match the "firepower and technology" of the Sri Lankan military, which he said would be driven out of Jaffna and the east. "We will capture the whole area. Our people are giving us full support for that," he said.

When asked about the position of the Muslim people were the Batticaloa district to come under the control of the Liberation Tigers, Mr. Karikalan said "We will ensure conditions for them to live freely and according to their culture. Muslims are a distinct group living in Tamil Eelam. We accept that they have a distinct culture. They have every right to live according to those. We are joined as one by the language we speak. This is a strong bond. They also need to be freed from the oppression of the Sinhala armed forces."

Tamil MPs slam paramilitary group’s ‘profiteering’

Tamil MPs in Jaffna last week charged the paramilitary Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP), a key Parliamentary ally of President Chandrika Kumaratunga of profiteering at the expense of the people, and called on Jaffna's youth to shun the EPDP's activities in the northern town.

"A section of our youth are fighting with the Tigers and making sacrifices for the birth of the nation. [But] so-me have lined up for money from those betraying the Tamil people by colluding with the Sinhala chauvinist government. This is not what we need", said the TULF's Jaffna MP Mavai Senathirajah at a meeting in Thellipalai recently.

Being especially critical of the EPDP, he said "libraries and temples are being awarded grants in an attempt to woe the public. Those that can get this money, do so. But don't follow them in their ideals. There is no guarantee that the government that has bombed temples, houses and libraries wont do so again."

The EPDP secured four seats in Jaffna in the Parliamentary elections last year. Tamil parties say the paramilitary group intimidated voters and rival candidates, stuffed ballot boxes and conducted other election malpractices. Reporters investigating the allegations were threatened and one, M. Nimalrajan of the BBC, was murdered. The EPDP's leader, Douglas Devananda was given a cabinet post - rehabilitation for the north and east, and has proved a loyal and uncritical ally of Kumaratunga.

"Can the north and east be developed without solving the ethnic problem first? Forty-one Tamil women have been known to be sexually assaulted [recently]. Were questions asked in the parliament about these? Those who never questioned these are today handing out money".

S Sivamaharasa MP, also used his address to charge the EPDP, indirectly, with profiteering at the expense of the people. "Many former parliamentarians for Jaffna have undertaken useful development work. But none of them placed adverts in newspapers congratulating their own efforts. But those today are ordering [newspapers] that they be congratulated." The Tamil parties say Devananda is using funds intended for rehabilitation to build a corrupt business empire. The EPDP's joint operations with the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) facilitates its illegal activities, they say.

Remembrance University refugee camp ‘disappeared’

Memorial functions were held last Wednesday in Vantharumoolai and Valaichenai to mark the 11th anniversary of disappearance of 158 Tamils who were arrested by the Sri Lanka security forces from the Eastern University refugee camp on September 5, 1990, TamilNet reported. Posters condemning the security forces for the murdering the refugees were seen in several parts of these towns.

Special prayers were performed in Hindu temples. White flags were flown in Chenkaladi, Kommathurai, Sithaandy and Vantharumoolai areas. Relatives said that preparations are underway to build a memorial for the disappeared. About 45 thousand refugees were living in the Eastern University campus in Vantharumoolai when the peace talks between the Premadasa Government and the Liberation Tigers collapsed on June 10, 1990.

On September 5, Sri Lankan soldiers surrounded the refugee camp and ordered the inmates to the athletic ground of the campus. 158 of those assembled were then hand-cuffed and were taken.

Relatives of the disappeared said that they received reliable information that the busses were taken to Naavalady where all the 158 refugees were murdered.

Indonesian President extends apology to Aceh

Indonesia's president apologized Saturday for the government's past mistakes in restive Aceh province, and she urged residents to welcome new laws granting the region its own legal system and a greater share of oil income, the Associated Press reported. But representatives of the main Acehnese independence group said they would not meet her.

Megawati Sukarnoputri's apology prompted cheers and applause from several thousand people gathered outside the ornate Baiturrahman Mosque in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, during her first visit since becoming president on July 23. However, the apology stopped short of recognizing accusations by rebels and human rights groups that Indonesia's military has been responsible for much of the bloodshed in Aceh.

"The central government in the past has made many mistakes, and there have been shortcomings. For that, on behalf of myself and the government, I, as the president of the Republic of Indonesia, offer my greatest apologies to the people of Aceh," Megawati said. She called on Aceh's 4 million people to give her new government time to solve the problems that have led to a long-running separatist war.

The government hopes that greater autonomy will defuse support for the armed rebellion that has claimed about 1,200 lives so far this year and more than 7,000 in the past decade.

Security was tight during the president's visit. Outside the mosque, armoured vehicles and dozens of heavily armed soldiers stood guard. Army snipers were stationed in a nearby tower. In a sign of respect to the Acehnese, Megawati wore an Islamic headscarf on Saturday.

The visit comes amid rising violence and calls by military leaders to launch a full-scale offensive against the rebels. In a gun battle on Saturday in the town of Lhokseumawe, soldiers shot to death a guerrilla, officials said.

Soon after she became president, Megawati formally apologized for military atrocities, but insisted she would never grant the province independence. On Saturday, she urged Aceh's people to accept recently passed laws that grant the province a greater chunk of revenues from its natural resources, including large natural gas reserves that are being tapped by U.S. oil giant Exxon-Mobil Corp.

Under the new laws, the Acehnese - most of whom are staunchly Muslim - also have the right to impose Islamic shari'ah law. Even though 90 percent of Indonesia's 210 million people are Muslim, the Acehnese practice a more conservative version of Islam than the rest of the country.

Independence fighters win East Timor elections

Fretilin, which spearheaded East Timor's fight for independence from Indonesia, has won the territory's first democratic election, the United Nations said on Thursday. But it fell short of the two-thirds majority in the new constituent assembly needed to unilaterally draft East Timor's first democratic constitution and may be forced into an alliance with minor parties reported Reuters.

Fretilin president Lu Olo told reporters he would stick with plans for a government of national unity as the impoverished, U.N.-run territory prepares for independence next year. "Fretilin would like to solemnly reaffirm that it wants to form an all-inclusive government that is transparent -- an efficient government without corruption, without nepotism," he said.

U.N. Chief Electoral Officer Carlos Valenzuela told reporters Fretilin had won 55 of the 88 seats in the assembly. The August 30 election came two years to the day after a U.N.-organized ballot yielded an overwhelming vote to split from Indonesia, triggering a fury of killing and destruction by pro-Jakarta militias backed by the Indonesian army. The assembly vote was remarkably peaceful.

East Timor's U.N. administrator, Sergio Vieira de Mello, told reporters he had met Fretilin secretary-general Mari Alkatiri for talks on the composition of a transitional government. Vieira de Mello said he would appoint a chief minister and council of ministers next week after the preliminary results were certified.

Fretilin won 12 of the 13 directly elected district seats and 43 of the 75 territory-wide seats allocated by proportional representation. Its nearest rival was the Democratic Party with seven seats, followed by two others with six each. One, the Social Democratic Party, is headed by former governor under Indonesia and member of a leading but deeply divided local family, Mario Carrascalao. The second, the Association of Timorese Democrats (ASDT), is led by Francisco Xavier do Amaral, an early founder of Fretilin. The party used the old Fretilin revolutionary flag to garner support in the poorly educated countryside.

The new constitution will pave the way for another election, possibly next April, which will choose the new president. Former guerrilla leader Xanana Gusmao is almost certain to win.

Serb gangs emerge amid Macedonia truce

The police chief in Macedonia's main ethnic Albanian city predicted new clashes Saturday unless authorities can rein in Macedonian paramilitary gangs that may have been joined by militias from neighbouring Serbia, reported the Associated Press. Saip Bilali's report of a Serb presence has not been independently confirmed. But if true, it would add another worrisome element threatening the fragile calm as Macedonia marked the 10th anniversary of its independence from Yugoslavia.

"The danger is permanent," said Bilali, who is ethnic Albanian. He said there was "verified information" that paramilitary militiamen from Serbia have been seen near the western Macedonian town of Gostivar, but he did not elaborate.

In the capital, Skopje, President Boris Trajkovski urged political leaders to unite behind a peace plan designed to end six months of ethnic conflict. "Macedonia’s political leadership must show courage and explain to the people that there is no reason to fear the agreement," Trajkovski said on state radio Saturday.

The peace process in Macedonia is edging through a potentially hazardous phase with NATO collecting more weapons from ethnic Albanian rebels, known as the National Liberation Army, in return for lawmakers' promises to grant more minority rights. But Western officials fear security problems could destabilize the fragile process.

A Macedonian paramilitary group known as the Lions appears to be operating in the Tetovo area, said Bilali. It has been blamed for harassing ethnic Albanian villagers and even ethnic Albanian police officers, he added. There has been no clear information on the size and structure of the paramilitary group, although its presence has been confirmed by NATO and other Western officials.

Bilali suggested such gangs may have links to Macedonian police units and supporters of the leading VMRO party of Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski. Top government officials have denied any connection.

Earlier this week, the deputy head of the Tetovo traffic police, an ethnic Albanian, was attacked by the Lions in the ethnic Albanian village of Palatica east of Tetovo. A NATO liaison team - in the area by chance - intervened to defuse a potential clash after armed ethnic Albanians responded to the shooting, the alliance said.

"We were hoping the problem would start to be resolved through political methods," Bilali said. "But it's a pity that in Tetovo ... there will be further developments regarding the mistreatment of citizens."

The peace accord calls for the National Liberation Army to hand over its weapons to NATO. But the NATO mission is to last only 30 days, ending Sept. 26. The European Union has begun deliberations on sending its own force to protect civilian observers who would stay to monitor the situation.

Trajkovski insisted Macedonia needs no international force once NATO leaves. "If NATO troops stayed on, this would only give us a sense of false security and create another Bosnia or Kosovo in the Balkans," he said on state radio.

Colombian death squads enter politics

Colombia's right-wing death squads, blamed for some of the worst atrocities in the country's 37-year old war, said last Wednesday they were forming a nationwide political movement. In a 10-page document posted on their Web site, the outlawed United Self Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC) -- a brutal vigilante army that targets leftist guerrillas and suspected collaborators -- said the time was right to meld their military offensive with social and political activity reported Reuters.

"We announce to Colombia and the world that we have set foot on the other shore, that of politics, where we will grow strong because of our convictions and our spirit to build freely, with dignity and in peace a Father-land and Community," the AUC said on its site. "We were born out of war to end war, we meet in politics to dignify politics and make peace possible," the document read.

Described as a "civilian army serving the common good," the political Democratic and National Movement, is unlikely to mark the 8,000-member AUC's transition from a feared military organization to a legal electoral force. But the militias, responsible for many of the 40,000 killings of civilians in the last decade, said they wanted "political recognition" from the Colombian government and the international community and demanded a seat in 2-1/2-year peace talks between the government and FARC.

Despite being listed on the U.S. list of "terrorist organizations" for their massacres of peasants sometimes with chain saws - many observers say the government will eventually have to deal politically with the AUC.

Jayalalitha case shifted to new judge

In YET another blow to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha's hopes of getting elected to the Assembly before the November 13 deadline, the Supreme Court Friday transferred her appeals against conviction in three cases to another judge of the Madras High Court and ordered that the hearing afresh on these appeals would not begin before October 1 reported the Press Trust of India.

A three-judge bench took strong exception to the way the hearing was conducted before a single judge of the High Court, saying "justice should not only be done but appear to be done". When counsel for Jayalaithaa said that the hearing should commence a little earlier as she was racing against the Constitutional deadline, the bench said, "We understand all that. But that does not mean justice will not be done."

Taking note of the request of Attorney General Soli J Sorabjee that the transfer of the case from the present judge, R Balasubramaniam, should not be construed as casting of any aspersions on him or the High Court, the bench said, "We make it clear that we are passing the order so that justice is seen to be done. We do not intend to make any adverse comments on the judge who was hearing the appeals. The Attorney General requests to the same effect be recorded," it said.

The direction to transfer the case to another judge, to start hearing afresh on the appeals and not before October 1, makes it difficult for Jayalalithaa to get elected to the Assembly before November 13.

No compromise on Chechnya

Russian President Vladimir Putin ruled out compromise with Chechens on Friday, squashing a peace initiative by a top liberal politician, who responded by accusing the president of "nervous over-excitement" reported Reuters. Putin, reacting sharply to a call by former deputy prime minister Boris Nemtsov for talks with the Chechen leadership, said "odious bandits, up to their elbows in the Russian people's blood" must give up arms and surrender first.

They also had to recognize the authority of the Russian constitution over their territory, Putin said in remarks on Russian television during a tour of Caucasus regions. Clearly annoyed at Nemtsov's call, Putin challenged him to get the Chechens to accept these conditions or else give up his seat in the State Duma (lower house).

Nemtsov, who heads the parliamentary faction of the Union of Rightwing Forces, the main liberal party, retorted in an interview with Ekho Moskvy radio that it was up to Putin to appoint a special representative for talks with the Chechens.