TSUNAMI IMPACT: Last Chance for Gov’t and Tigers to Work Jointly

By Amantha Perera Reprint | | Print |

Analysis - by Amantha Perera

COLOMBO, Apr 24 2005 (IPS) - Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s wish for the traditional Sinhala and Tamil New Year, which fell on Apr. 14, was that the devastating tsunami would finally bring unity in her divided nation.

”To forget and forgive and to ask for forgiveness is a noble New Year tradition nurtured by our forefathers,” she told the embattled nation in her message.

The Dec. 26 tsunami left more than 31,000 dead in the island that has been torn apart by two decades of ethnic strife that has taken more than 65,000 lives.

The proposed joint mechanism between the Kumaratunga government and the rebel Tamil Tigers, to provide aid to the people of the North and East of the island was to be the icebreaker between the two former warring parties.

”This would be a foundation to find a final solution to the protracted national conflict,” Kumaratunga added.

Government troops and the Tamil Tiger rebels have fought since 1983 over the Tamils’ claim to a homeland in the north. The conflict left more than 65,000 people dead before a Norway- brokered cease-fire largely halted fighting in 2002. Subsequent peace talks broke down two years ago.

But the onus of getting the joint mechanism working has fallen on the Norwegian peace brokers.

Special peace envoy Erik Solheim arrived in the island on Apr. 17 with an optimistic message, for change. Since peace talks between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), as the Tigers are officially known, stalled in April 2003, during frequent visits Solheim has had to deal with the deteriorating goodwill between the two parties.

The ceasefire signed in February 2002 has nevertheless held without any major incidents.

Meeting with displaced Muslim tsunami victims in the eastern town of Batticaloa two days later, Solheim said, ”ninety nine percent of the mechanism has been finalised”. During meetings with foreign diplomats and other decision makers in the capital Colombo, Solheim emphasised that the mechanism would be up and running within weeks.

However, for Kumaratunga to place her government’s seal on the mechanism, she needs the support of the extremist People’s Liberation Front, a vital part of her coalition government. The PLF has steadfastly maintained its opposition to any sort of corporation with the Tigers despite supporting peace talks.

The first salvo against Solheim’s efforts as well as Kumaratunga’s comments came from the National Patriotic Front within which several PLF high-ups are influential. In a statement it said that Solheim and Norway had exceeded the role of facilitators.

”The ceasefire agreement was a gross violation of the territorial integrity of the country by demarcating part of the land as the LTTE territory. The joint mechanism will go a step further as it will see the government sharing its supreme power to handle finances with the Tigers,” Wimal Weeravansha, PLF propaganda secretary told the local newspaper, ‘Daily Mirror’.

He warned warning that if the president went ahead with the mechanism, jointly with the Tamil Tiger rebels, the PLF would withdraw its support.

Details of the proposed mechanism have remained sketchy but sources who held discussions with Solheim said that it involved a three tier framework incorporating the majority Sinhalese, Tamils and the Muslims at national, regional and district levels. The bodies would have to arrive at decisions by consensus.

Faced with stiff opposition from the PLF, Kumaratunga has balked in the past. Earlier this month her government was forced to postpone several bills aimed at restructuring the Electricity Board and the Petroleum Corporation when PLF affiliated unions threatened to strike.

However, on the joint mechanism, she would face tremendous pressure not only from the Tigers but also from donors whose funds are the lifeline for an economy that is showing signs of buckling.

”Aid pledges have not been translated into actual disbursements to any considerable extent, partly due to failure of the government to agree on a joint tsunami aid disbursement mechanism with the LTTE. Despite the appreciation of the rupee since early January, the balance of payments position continues to be precarious,” Colombo-based economist Muttukrishna Sarvananthan told IPS.

Even Norway which pledged 10 million U.S. dollars for immediate tsunami relief effort is yet to finalise or announce its commitment to the reconstruction effort. Government officials involved in discussions with the Norwegians said that the delay was due to absence of the joint mechanism and a final reconstruction plan.

A donors’ meeting is scheduled for May 16 and 17 and Kumaratunga is under pressure to finalise the mechanism before that.

Weeravansha hinted at donor pressure when he said that western donors and NGOs promoted the joint mechanism. Even the U.S. that has designated the Tigers as a foreign terrorist organisation has supported the mechanism. ”We hope that government and the LTTE will agree soon on a joint mechanism for tsunami relief,” visiting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Christina Rocca said.

The Tigers who have indicated their consent to the mechanism, last week challenged Kumaratunga to show her commitment to the process by going ahead with it.

”We can talk about having faith in this process only when the joint mechanism for tsunami reconstruction is implemented,” Banu, the Tigers’ eastern military head said soon after meeting Solheim. Echoing Kumaratunga, he said the mechanism could be the basis for the recommencement of talks.

If the mechanism falls victim to political pressure, on top of the political and financial fallout, thousands of tsunami victims in the East in particular and all over the coast would be left helpless.

Economist Sarvananthan estimates that 41 percent of the tsunami damage was suffered in the East. Among the worst victims are Muslims. During his meetings, Solheim has been repeating that if the mechanism fails it would be the Muslims in the East who would find themselves hard done.