The Hindu : 'India should play a pro-active role'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Apr 12, 2003

National

National

'India should play a pro-active role'

By Amit Baruah

NEW DELHI April 11. The Sri Lankan President, Chandrika Kumaratunga, will be 58 on June 29. Eight-and-a-half-years and two terms on in the job of President, Ms. Kumaratunga is as combative as ever, never stingy in expressing her views.

Here, in this interview to The Hindu late on Thursday, she spoke extensively about the peace process, her fears about where it was headed and possible intervention by her.

Ms. Kumaratunga, who is no stranger to Delhi, took credit for the "excellent" relations with India and said she remained committed to achieving peace in Sri Lanka.

Excerpts from the interview:

Question: Madam President, you have publicly articulated your concerns about the Sri Lankan peace process. During your talks in New Delhi, did you find the Government of India sharing some of your concerns?

Chandrika Kumaratunga: Yes, yes. Quite a few.

Would you like to give some details? And anything you might have told them?

All those details I will not be able to tell you now, but on the whole, the Government of India has, since a long time, been of the same view as us that a negotiated settlement (in Sri Lanka) would be very satisfactory. That is the thing to do; they have been very supportive of our peace processes as much as they are supportive of the present one.

The Government of India is also very strongly of the view that whatever solution is reached should be within the framework of one Sri Lanka. They are also of the view that some kind of extensive devolution is the solution — kind of federal or some such solution as I proposed to the country some time ago.

In the current scenario, what kind of role do you envisage for India vis-a-vis Sri Lanka?

You mean in the peace matter?

In the peace matter and more generally... We have excellent relations with Sri Lanka. What role can India play?

Excellent relations since 1994 (when Ms. Kumaratunga took over as Prime Minister and then as Executive President). Relations were bad before that in the previous UNP Government. In the peace matter — that is what I suppose you are most interested in — we would like India to continue their support and whatever assistance they can give us in the peace process. And we feel now that quite a few countries are coming in and facilitators are becoming mediators; from mediation to advisers to all kinds of things. In the final count, India is the one country that would be justifiably interested in Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka's future in this matter, for reasons that are known, I don't have to spell them out. The historical reasons, the geographic proximity, the linkages, economic and everything else. Therefore, India should play a very proactive role politically, I don't mean militarily.

Do you think that the Ranil Wickremesinghe Government has gone too far in accommodating the LTTE as far as the peace process is concerned?

I don't think you could call it accommodating. Accommodating means coming to some kind of compromise with your adversaries in order to find a final solution. It is something else. It is giving in to certain things because of the lack of professionalism, because of the lack of a plan of action. When you go into something like this, which is so serious, the Government of a sovereign state going into talks with one of the world's two most ruthless and highly organised terrorist organisations, you have to know what you want. You have to know what you can offer — the maximum and the minimum — the top line or the bottom line as I call it. And then discuss within that framework. If you don't have any of that and the ability to evolve all that for whatever reasons, then you begin to give in to everything without knowing where it is leading. Because if you don't know where you want to go, if you don't know what are the limits you are going to discuss within, then whatever the other party (LTTE) asks, you say, ah, yes, it's very nice, because all you want is peace at any cost. I am worried that this may be the way it (the peace process) is going on.

You initiated a peace process in 1994 and then we had the LTTE attack the Trincomalee harbour in early 1995 that disrupted the talks. Do you fear that the LTTE might do the same somewhere along the way again?

At the moment, they may not need it because they have got much more in one year of peace than they were able to get in 18 years of war.

Would you like to be more specific....

There is almost a de facto separate State in the north. And in parts of the east. The LTTE has increased its cadres from 6,000 to 16,000 during the one year of peace. They are training them apace, they have got caught bringing in large quantities of arms. Did you see those? (Points to a newspaper photograph of LTTE leader, Karuna, hoisting an Eelam flag). They (the Tigers) are blatantly having passing out parades. And raising the Tiger flag. Mr. Karuna, who is the second most important person in the LTTE's peace delegation (in the peace talks), is raising the separatist flag at passing out parades for LTTE military cadres. So, they have got much more than what they have been able to get by fighting. They have even been permitted to open Eelam banks. They are not even called LTTE banks, they are Eelam banks... They have been permitted to operate an Eelam legal system. They have apparently drawn up separate legal codes, set up separate law courts. They are training judges to dispense their Eelam law and have begun to dispense it. True, previously they had kangaroo courts where they did all kinds of crude things. But, now, this is formally setting all these things up and the (Wickremesinghe) Government is looking the other way. They are extorting monies, but calling it tax collection and have been permitted for the first time to advertise their tax structures in newspapers. People who don't pay are kidnapped. They are permitted to do child conscription in a big way. So, what more can they (the LTTE) ask? I don't know why they feel they have to build up their armies for they don't need to fight at the moment.

Do you feel that the situation may become such in the months and year ahead that you might need to use your emergency powers under the Sri Lankan Constitution (which allows the President to dismiss the elected Government)?

I hope I will not be called upon do that. But if I have to, well, then I have to fulfil the duties and responsibilities that the people of Sri Lanka have given me.

Given the international community's involvement in Sri Lanka any dismissal of the Government, and the support for peace as it is, would disturb that process...

Whatever happens, I am not interested in changing Governments for the sake of bringing my party into power instead of another. But, whatever action I take, will be only in the national interest... (a Government) that shows, by their actions, that they are jeopardising the national interest seriously, then, obviously, the whole Executive Presidential system has been designed to have these checks and balances. And the President will have to take some decisions. But that's not in the offing for the moment. Whatever Government comes into power... if I have anything to do with it, the peace process will continue without any disturbance. It may be headed more effectively.

A lot of people believe that a settlement in Sri Lanka could set the tone for South Asia as a whole. Do you think that is likely? Is the LTTE leader, Velupillai Prabakaran, going to say it's over and I am suing for peace?

No, I don't think it will happen that fast. As I was saying, the LTTE has decided that they will slowly, but surely, while the so-called peace process is going on, establish themselves and strengthen the de facto Eelam situation... that's just a possibility and they'll be quite happy going on like that because the world at the moment is against terrorism.

Some time has passed since you survived the assassination attempt against you by the LTTE. A ceasefire has been on now for a year. But, are you still concerned about your own safety and security?

Well, (Anton) Balasingham (the LTTE functionary heading the Tiger negotiating team) has been issuing threats to me after every round of talks. The LTTE goes for talks funded by the Sri Lankan Government and the Royal Norwegian Government in five-star, six-star hotels and at the end of every round of talks, at the press conference, with the Sri Lankan Government Minister, Mr. (G.L.) Peiris, sitting next to him, he abuses the President, saying that the President is scuttling the peace process. As long as Chandrika is there, Sri Lanka will have no peace and, in fact, I asked the Norwegians to ask him of even one example where I have done anything to scuttle the peace process. Rather, I have been bending over backwards not to scuttle it while a lot of wrong things are happening... Recently also they (the LTTE) said various things, which the security people feel are direct death warrants issued on the President. But I don't give a hoot. The LTTE's death warrants have been issued against me from the moment I wanted to settle the Tamil people's problems, honestly and truly, without the terror of the LTTE and within a united Sri Lanka... I have stopped being worried about my security, but the security people are worried about it. They say the threat is very big at the moment.

My last question. Taking credit for the peace process is an issue, we saw how the UNP sabotaged your peace package. This game of one-upmanship, which is a fact of Sri Lankan politics...

... It's a fact of South Asian politics.

But do you think...

... whether I also would indulge in that? No, I won't. As I told the Prime Minister (Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe) right in the beginning when he came into power, I will not sabotage his peace process like the way he sabotaged mine. I told him to his face. I told him ask for our assistance, we will give you of our eight years of experience of handling the issue. But they didn't want it, so that's a different matter.

I will do nothing to scuttle the peace process. But as a responsible head of state, if I see in the name of peace, the country's unity and integrity and the people's safety is being jeopardised, I have to draw the attention of the relevant authorities and, at a push, even take action to stop it. Beyond that, I will not scuttle any peace process.

I think years of experience in governance and generations of it have given me sufficient responsibility and commitment to the country not to indulge in this national weakness as you call it.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National