Destructive tide of a water war

• JHU’s political gimmick
• Access denied to NGOs
• India keeps close tabs
• Googly to Rukman

The 10-day battle for water in north-eastern Trincomalee has turned the area into a veritable battlefield, causing mayhem and leaving a trail of destruction in Serunuwara and Muslim-dominated Muttur.
The people living in Serunuwara and adjacent areas were rattled by the sound of gunfire booming over the smoky skies above them, causing fear and anxiety as to what would unfold before their eyes at the next moment.
In this backdrop, the bigger political question that arises from the battlefield of Mavil Aru and Muttur is whether the Rajapaksa administration is virtually being forced into this situation by certain interested external forces.
The loss incurred is enormous in terms of human life and property. The economy will take a further downturn since the cost of the war has to be borne by the people.
A historical perspective on the significance of the Verugal Aru-Serunuwara episode would shed more light on the present controversy as to why the Sri Lankan government had to take this tough decision of venturing into Tigerland.
It is not a secret that from ancient times, which date back to the era of King Kavantissa of Ruhunu Magampura, there were Sinhalese settlements around Serunuwara and there were a few Tamil settlements in the northern part close to Verugal Aru.
The Sinhala settlements acted virtually as the lay custodians of the “Lalata Dhathu” (The Sacred Relic of the Buddha).
King Kavantissa extended his writ over the area by diplomatic moves after consultations with the sub-regional royal heads as to how he should make his moves to enshrine the sacred relic of the Buddha in a pagoda built for the purpose.
If history taught us anything, it is that diplomatic moves should have been the government strategy to resolve such humanitarian crises rather than resorting to military options which could finally boomerang on the government.
Blocking water, no doubt, is a crime against humanity. But can a military option alleviate the problem? It could aggravate the problem to unprecedented levels as it is happening today.
Questionable intentions
Though government intervention appears to be purely humanitarian rather than political to provide water for the fertile land around Serunuwara and to the people affected by the blockade, the intentions of the Jathika Hela Urumaya and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna are questionable.
The question asked all round is whether they really feel for the suffering people of the vulnerable villages or was their exercise last week purely political in nature and an attempt for a photo opportunity in the media?
This is the view expressed by most political analysts who question the bona fides of the JHU and the JVP.
Staging protests while the security forces and the government are trying to do their best through negotiations and otherwise to resolve the crisis, was deplored by some as a JHU political gimmick. Others say that if they are so concerned about the fate of those living in threatened villages, they should render a silent service to the people by being there, without making it a mockery with their antics.
However, there is a word of appreciation for Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera by the people in the area for having focused the attention of everybody concerned on their tale of woe.
The situation in the Trincomalee District and the Mavil Aru -Verugal Aru issue, figured at the Parliamentary Consultative Committee on Defence, which was attended by Prime Minister, Ratnasisri Wickramanayaka, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, and the three service commanders, last week.
Maheswaran’s accusations
At this meeting, UNP Parliamentarian, T. Maheswaran accused the government of cutting off the food supply to the area in question. “What right do you have to do such a thing?” queried Maheswaran from Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka. The Army Chief, who resumed duties last week, was very receptive and diplomatic in his answers and denied Maheswaran’s story that the government cut off the food supply to the area in question. He said that food supplies continue without any hindrance.
Maheswaran may have been repeating what he had heard from LTTE sources, that the people were agitating over the discriminatory distribution of dry rations by the Trincomalee government agent who is a high-ranking officer of the Sri Lanka Navy.
Maheswaran then raised the question of Trincomalee being under military control, with a military government agent of the rank of major general at the helm to handle civil affairs which is contrary to the normal practice. Referring to Rear Admiral Mohan Wijewickrama, he remarked that on top of this, there is yet another military person as the governor of the North East.
Maheswaran said that they were not opposing a Sinhalese government agent but said that things are not easy for the people when there is a military man at the helm to manage civil affairs of the area.
Maheswaran also said that the government should meet with the parents of the 85 missing children from Jaffna to which both the Prime Minister and the Army Chief agreed without any objection. These parents will probably be allowed inside the respective army camps in Jaffna to present their case to the government.
He also told the government to appoint Tamil officers under the graduate recruitment scheme to each police station in Colombo to facilitate the communication process which is otherwise causing problems for the Tamils taken into custody for various offences.
The JVP’s Wimal Weerawansa, who was present at the meeting, took some swipes at Maheswaran but they were not harsh enough to warrant a response from the UNP MP.
UNP Hambantota MP, Sajit Premadasa, who was also present at this meeting, emphasised the need to increase the level of protection given to national parks such as the Yala game park and the Kumana bird sanctuary.
Premadasa said that the arrival of tourists especially to Yala, has declined sharply owing to the security situation and some 300 jeep drivers, who eke out a living by taking tourists on safaris, were facing tremendous difficulties because of this.The Prime Minister and the Defence Secretary promised to look into the problems and set up an army camp in Kumana to protect the area from poachers and infiltrators.
Maheswaran chipped in once more to tell the government that it should not block development work in the north and east and the work done by the non governmental organisations as well.
Maheswaran expressed the same sentiments when he met with the President two weeks ago at a luncheon hosted by Nauzer Fowzie, the son of Minister A.H.M. Fowzie. He told the President that he (the President) could get along with the LTTE as long as he refrained from interfering with their work in the LTTE held areas.
Greater problem
But now it appears that the President is facing a greater problem than ever before with the LTTE over water. Some of the parliamentarians from the Trincomalee District met with the President to apprise him of the current situation in the Muttur and Seruwila areas.
President Rajapaksa, during the past few days, was in constant touch with Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Donald Perera, directing operations in the crisis-ridden Mavilaru, Verugal Aru and Muttur areas.
By Thursday morning, Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, was at a meeting with the people concerned to send food in a convoy to Muttur since the supply line had been cut off after the Tigers took control of the Muttur area.
A senior citizen of Muttur, who wanted to remain anonymous, said that he had seen over 500 LTTE cadres roaming the area on Wednesday but by Thursday morning, most of them had gone into hiding. Despite all this, he told this column that shelling continued and said, “I do not know who is responsible for this - whether it is the government troops or the LTTE.”
Referring to the government’s position as regards Muttur, he said that Government Spokesman, Keheliya Rambukwella, was bluffing at a time when things are really bad in this Muslim-dominated eastern town.
In this backdrop, President Rajapaksa met with Najeeb Majid, the Co-operative Minister, and Hussain Bhaila, Deputy Minister, and Presidential Advisor, A.H.M. Azwer, to discuss the current situation in Muttur. The President said that he was monitoring the situation and that Defence Chief of Staff, Donald Perera was overlooking the operations in the area. He also said that the difficulty in reaching Muttur is that the Tigers are trying to use Muslims as a human shield. The President however said that enough reinforcements have now been sent to the trouble spot, with a contingent of commandos to take control of the situation.
The President said more or less the same thing on Wednesday evening when he met with the ministers to discuss the issues relating to governmental affairs. Defence Chief of Staff, Donald Perera was present at the meeting to brief the ministers on the ongoing operation.
JVP accused
After the cabinet meeting, ministers were seen having an informal discussion on the ongoing military exercise in the Trincomalee district. Most of the ministers were of the view that the government should have explored the possibility of resolving the problem through negotiations with the help of the Norwegians.
One minister who expressed his disapproval over the JVP influence on the government, said that it is clear now that the President is being taken for a ride by the JVP.
The same sentiment was expressed by SLMC Leader, Rauf Hakeem, when he told this column that the war has been executed at the insistence of the JVP, which, he said, was quite insensitive to the feelings of the common man.
“There is a mix-up between the military objective and the political objective,” he said.
Meanwhile, at the discussion the President had with officials and Co-operative Minister, Najeeb Majeed, the subject relating to the Serunuwara High Priest, Ven. Sarnakeerthi Thera, was also taken up.
There it was revealed that the high priest who had advocated a full scale military intervention in the matter, had suddenly changed his stance. The President and the officials have expressed their dismay over the matter while an official present at the meeting remarked that the monk had changed his stance owing to pressure and influence by some non-governmental organisations. The monk, after having called off his fast unto death seeking a solution for the ongoing water crisis, had apparently said that military action could have been avoided if the government acted as soon as the sluice gate was closed when the LTTE had expressed willingness to reopen it.
Having discussed the issue of the chief priest of Serunuwara being influenced by NGOs operating in the area, the government on Friday stepped up its campaign against NGOs the government feel are a contributing factor to the escalation of unrest in the area concerned.
The government apparently directed the security forces and the police to deny access to NGOs trying to enter the troubled areas in the Trincomalee District.
The LTTE position appears to be somewhat different to the stand taken by the government. The LTTE maintains the position that civil administrative officers should talk to the aggrieved civilians in the area who were instrumental in closing the sluice gate apparently with the help of the LTTE.
LTTE message
The LTTE said that the government agent of Trincomalee had stopped the distribution of dry rations to the people in the uncleared areas several months ago. The Tigers also claim that a fresh water scheme which was scheduled to have got underway in both the cleared and LTTE controlled areas with an investment of more than Rs. 30 million had only been implemented in the cleared areas.
They said that the people in the area protested over these issues by staging demonstrations in front of the Mahindapura and Kattaparichchan army camps several months ago but to no avail. The status quo could have been restored if the government made it a point to speak to the civilians and addressed their problem.
The LTTE message was conveyed to Government Defence Spokesman, Keheliya Rambukwella through a source in Colombo, but the minister was adamant that action should have been taken to open the sluice gate before any talks could get under way to address the grievances of affected civilians.
It was then argued that on most occasions, negotiations are held after the workers resort to trade union action, but the minister stuck to his guns saying that water is an essential commodity for the people and hence priority should be given to the opening of the sluice gate on humanitarian grounds.
The government position is that the LTTE argument doesn’t hold water since the two issues emanate from two different scenarios.
While the government is battling it out with the LTTE, the Mavil Aru sluice gate fiasco reached international dimensions with Norway and the European Union issuing statements calling upon both parties to exercise restraint. However, the strangest phenomenon of all is that both parties have not abrogated the Ceasefire Agreement signed between the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE in 2002.
According to the CFA, each party has to give two weeks’ notice to the other party if they intend to withdraw from the agreement. Political analysts feel that an undeclared war has now resumed and has reached unprecedented proportions, causing the people misery. Meanwhile, the Indians are keeping close tabs on developments on the north-eastern front while making contact with the government from time to time for updates on the issue. The Indians were apparently perusing the CFA and looking for an opportunity to help the affected people.
They are apparently concerned about three aspects in the north east war - the political, security and humanitarian aspects. They are also in touch with multinational donor agencies and humanitarian organisations to assess the situation. The Indians are of the view that it is up to Sri Lanka to decide whether India should play a role in the conflict or not.
One diplomat told this column that Sri Lanka should make up its mind whether they need Indian help or not.
They appear to be annoyed over the Sri Lankan government’s attitude of trying to use them as a tool when necessary. The Indians have made it very clear that they cannot be used as a tool in the hand. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which is a major factor behind the conflict, has slowly moved away from India and is pursuing a military solution for the Sri Lankan conflict rather than a negotiated settlement. This has apparently irked India.
The conflict in the Muttur area has brought immense misery and hardship to the people who have been unnecessarily dragged into a situation they never expected. The effects of the conflict have also spilled over to other areas where there are Muslim settlements.
The ongoing crisis situation had a severe impact in Colombo, where Muslim leaders called on both parties to abandon the senseless war.
Hakeem worried
A worried SLMC Leader, Rauf Hakeem, said on Thursday that what they need is an immediate cessation of hostilities to evacuate the affected people from Muttur and take the injured to hospital. He posed the question as to why the government could not involve the Norwegians to seek a peaceful solution.
“Our position is that the government should have explored all peaceful means rather than resorting to the military option. After having started the offensive, they are not in a position to pull back now since the JVP would take them to task,” he said.
Mr. Hakeem found fault with the government for its failure to use international facilitation to sort out the problem. He said that he had already spoken to the Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, about the attacks carried out by the security forces from Monkey Bridge, Plantain Point and the Trincomalee Naval Base aiming at Muttur. The artillery fire had hit Arabic College, Muttur, killing 10 people and injuring about 50. But Defence Secretary Rajapaksa said that attacks are directed towards the LTTE hideout in Sampur.
He also said that he had already spoken to Norwegian Ambassador, Hans Brattskar, to convey their disapproval to the LTTE and call for an immediate cessation of hostilities.
“I spoke thrice to Hans Brattskar and through him to the SLMM, and I made it a point to speak to the Deputy Head of Missions of the US Embassy, James Moore. I explained to him the situation and the LTTE’s insensitivity towards the Muslims,” he said.
“As it stands today, it appears to me that the government doesn’t want to get the Norwegians or the SLMM involved in this issue. And the government is now frowning at a statement made by Eric Solheim too — his statement urging to stop the offensive operation immediately,” Hakeem said.
However, the same evening, it appeared that the government had softened its position when the members of the Sri Lanka Muslim Council met with the Presidential aide, Basil Rajapaksa and Chief of Defence Staff, Donald Perera. The Muslim delegation had initially asked for an appointment with the President himself, but they were referred to the Senior Presidential Advisor, Basil Rajapaksa and other senior SLFP ministers.
The Muslim delegation included several ministers and the SLMC Leader, Rauff Hakeem, Governor, Alavi Moulana, Azath Sally and former minister, A.H.M.Azwer.
At this meeting, the Muslim leaders exerted pressure on the government to declare an immediate cessation of hostilities taking into consideration the hardships the people had to undergo. Though it affects the pride of the government, they agreed to accede to the request.
ICRC consultations
The government had consultations with the ICRC which requested both parties to create a corridor for humanitarian supplies to be conveyed to the area of conflict. Accordingly the ICRC got ready for an emergency situation while Basil Rajapaksa contacted Norwegian Minister, Erik Solheim, to negotiate a ceasefire. By Friday evening, the government was still awaiting a response from the LTTE.
By Friday, Hakeem and his parliamentary group met with the Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka, Nirupama Rao, to discuss the latest developments in the conflict which is causing a huge political problem for the SLMC.
While the ground troops were making advancements towards the epicentre of the battle, the UNP Political Affairs Committee met once again to resolve their problems as the single largest political entity in the country.
There they discussed matters pertaining to deliberate leaks by the members of the Apex Political Affairs Committee to the press.
“It is the duty of the press to find out what is going on and report it. We can’t find fault with the newspapers for their coverage. What we ought to do is to try preventing these leaks,” a member of the 21-member committee said.
UNP Leader, Ranil Wickremesinghe, said that when these things get reported, people would laugh at them. “If that is the case, it is better not to have it,” he said.
The members were agitated when they heard the leader since they knew what his inner thoughts were; they suspected that this was their leader’s first step towards the dissolution of the Political Affairs Committee.
At once there was a suggestion from the house that the leader should name persons in the committee or outside of it, who may be reasonably suspected of divulging this information.
The response came at once from the leader: “I can’t play the role of a policeman, ” he said, and added that nothing in the Political Affairs Committee should supersede the decisions taken by the Working Committee of the party.
The members unanimously agreed with the leader’s suggestion that the party’s Working Committee takes precedence over the Political Affairs Committee.
Galle District Parliamentarian, Vajira Abeywardene, said that the leaks to the press are detrimental to the good name of the party since it could give bad tidings to the party organisation at grassroot levels.
UNP top rung member, Rukman Senanayake, had the same view and he was more or less campaigning for the dissolution of the Political Affairs Committee, which was vehemently opposed by the others.
Gampaha District Parliamentarian and senior party man, John Amaratunga, delivered a googly to Rukman, saying that such leaks would put the party into greater peril, but added that it did not warrant dissolution.
Another member replying Vajira Abeywardene, said that if the Political Affairs Committee took proper and important decisions, it would greatly benefit the party and what filtered down to the grassroots would help to enhance the party’s image among the people.
Ravi’s remarks
Ravi Karunanayake also had some interesting remarks to make. “If they want to dissolve the Political Affairs Committee just because what transpired there had been leaked to the media, then the same thing would happen to the Working Committee because the proceedings there are also being reported in a big way,” he said. “In the same manner, the same fate will befall the Working Committee. From there we move on to the Parliamentary Group and finally there will not be a forum and the leader will be compelled to take all his decisions in isolation,” Karunanayake added.
Adding more spice to what Karunanayake said, Hemakumara Nanayakkara asked the question as to whether if two farmers fight with their mammoties, do the other farmers put down their tools and look on? (Goviyo dennek udalu dekakkin gaha gaththama, anik goviyo udalu bima danawada?)
The general perception among the party members was that dissolution of the party’s Apex Political Affairs Committee, would not help the party in any way other than to create more problems.
Party members such as Hemakumara Nanayakkara, Johnston Fernando, Sajit Premadasa, Rajitha Senaratne, Jayawickrama Perera, Gamini Lokuge and Ravi Karunanayake virtually pounced on Rukman Senanayake for his attitude towards the Political Affairs Committee.
The members were perplexed by the stand taken by Rukman, who, not so long ago went to the extent of asking the leader to step down.
UNPers who had a great respect for him now think that he has fallen prey to the leader’s political mastery under which he was apparently offered the chairmanship of the party. As things stand today, the members want to know the fate of the Political Affairs Committee. One member posed the question whether they were wasting time being members of an ad hoc committee which has no legal basis. UNP Leader, Ranil Wickremsinghe answered that it was a legitimate committee with some legal basis set up following a resolution at the Working Committee. The fears of the members including that of Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya, were allayed, but the leader was cleared enough to carry forward his idea for dissolution, when the house agreed with his suggestion, that nothing in the Political Affairs Committee could supersede the decisions taken by Working Committee.