Deadlock continues in Sri Lanka

By Nirupama Subramanian

COLOMBO, AUG. 14. Sri Lanka's political uncertainty appears set to continue for the time being, with the People's Alliance (PA) Government unable to reach an understanding with any of the Opposition parties and the United National Party (UNP) threatening to intensify its agitation for the reconvening of Parliament.

The UNP has called for a mass protest demonstration on August 23 to demand the reconvening of Parliament and the resignation of the minority Government.

A no-confidence motion against the Government is pending before Parliament, which has to be reconvened latest on September 7 when the maximum permissible period for its prorogation ends.

The UNP leadership has staunchly denied all reports of backroom talks between itself and the PA on a power-sharing agreement. ``We are not prepared to give oxygen to this dying government,'' the assistant leader of the UNP, Mr. Gamini Athukorale, is reported to have told a meeting of party representatives. Meanwhile, the President, Mrs. Chandrika Kumaratunga, appears to have embarked on a strategy to scare the UNP into an agreement with her Government by assiduously wooing the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP).

As a first step in this strategy, Mrs. Kumaratunga chose a soft target, namely the business community, which is believed to have close links with the UNP.

Last week, soon after extensive talks with the JVP, Mrs. Kumaratunga called a meeting of 600 business representatives, where she virtually threatened to close a deal with the radical party if they did not use their clout to influence the UNP for a rapprochement with her Government.

If there is one entity that scares Sri Lanka's business community more than the LTTE and its ability to cause major economic set- backs by its terrorist strikes, it is the JVP and its potential to disrupt the economy. The months since the last general election have seen a heightening of trade union activity in Sri Lanka, much of which is attributed to the JVP.

Mrs. Kumaratunga told the gathering of business representatives that she found it easy to negotiate with the JVP because they stuck to one position, while the UNP shifted and prevaricated all the time.

It remains to be seen if the business community will rise to the bait and use its influence to broker peace between the Government and the UNP.

The UNP is of the opinion that the Government is not interested in a genuine power-sharing agreement with it. Instead, it wants to break the party by offering inducements to individual UNP MPs.

The party has said on several occasions that its share in any arrangement with the People's Alliance has to be the Prime Ministership for its leader, Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe, with substantial powers to go with it in contrast to the present arrangement in which he would only be a figurehead.

At the moment, Mrs. Kumaratunga appears to be strongly opposed to such an idea.

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