Chandrika buoyant after air strikes

By V. S. Sambandan

COLOMBO, MAY 15. Politics overtook warfare in Sri Lanka today as the nation's leaders - the President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, and the Opposition Leader, Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe, - held separate all-party confabulations on the unfolding military scenario in the northern peninsula.

An assertion by the Government that it would thwart rebel advances and a call by the Opposition to accept the Indian offer for a role as mediator, were the high points of the two meetings.

Skimpy details of the offensive reaching here indicated continued offensive between the Tigers and the Government troops on the fringes of Jaffna town. Ground troops, backed by the limited air attacks by the Air Force, have, for the moment, checked rebel advances, which have not seen any major shift in the territorial balance during the past few days.

In this backdrop, a confident Ms. Kumaratunga told the nation's political leaders that she was determined to go ahead with the constitutional reform proposals, with or without support from other parties, a senior presidential aide told The Hindu.

Political leaders who attended the meeting said Ms. Kumaratunga, who is also the Defence Minister, and the Deputy Defence Minister, Gen. Aniruddha Ratwatte, expressed confidence that further rebel advances could be thwarted.

On the crucial issue of the Indian offer for negotiation, if invited, Mr. V. Anandasangari, vice-president of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), said the President had informed them that there was no official intimation as yet from the Indian Government, prompting the former Chief Minister of the northeastern Province, Mr. A. Varatharajaperumal, to quip that it was for the patient to go to the doctor and not vice versa.

On the LTTE's recent offer for a temporary cessation of hostilities, Ms. Kumaratunga said while the offer was turned down as the Tigers were ``not sincere'', the Government was open to ``genuine talks'', and ruled out withdrawal of security forces from Jaffna. No self-respecting Government can accept the offer for a pullout from a part of its country, the President told the delegation.

The Left-radical Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) walked out of the meeting protesting the delay in commencement of the conference but made a six-point representation in which it called upon the Government to abandon its devolution package and treat members of all communities as equal citizens.

The Opposition Leader, Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe, who stayed away from the meeting, called upon the Government to accept the Indian offer for mediation if invited.

At a meeting convened by the United National Party (UNP), Mr. Wickremesinghe said the nation was going through a ``crucial moment'' and urged for a political solution. On the Indian offer, he said the ``friendly hand'' should be accepted and called upon other political parties to urge the Government to accept the Indian offer.

The party also appointed a committee to further pursue the Indian offer for help and to impress upon the Government's need to accept the initiative. Another committee was also appointed to work out a plan of action against the ``undemocratic regulations'' of the Public Security Ordinance which was passed recently.

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