POLITICS-SRI LANKA: Committed To Peace, Kumaratunga Bids For Second Term

By Feizal Samath Reprint | | Print |

Feizal Samath

COLOMBO, Oct 21 1999 (IPS) - Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga is gambling on early presidential polls to break a stalemate on peace proposals that her government had put forward to end the long civil war in the country.

On Wednesday, Kumaratunga declared her hand and appealed to the people “for a mandate to hold office for a further term”, a statement issued by the Information Department said.

Kumaratunga had swept to power in November 1994 after her People’s Alliance party ended an uninterrupted 17 years in power of the United National Party (UNP) with pledges, among others of negotiating peace with the rebel Tamil Tigers.

But her efforts to implement her peace platform by offering a generous devolution package have been stuck in Parliament for the last two years. Her party has only a wafer thin majority of one, while amendments have to be backed by two-thirds of the house.

For months there has been speculation in Colombo of early presidential polls, Sri Lanka’s fourth since the executive presidency was introduced in 1982. Kumaratunga had hinted last week, during a weekly Cabinet meeting, that the polls should be held “sooner than later”.

“We had expected her to make this announcement in December,” said a well-respected political columnist of an English-language weekly newspaper who did not want to be identified. Polls are due only before November 2000, when Kumaratunga completes her six- year term.

While the date will be decided by the Election Commissioner in three weeks, a confident Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the main opposition UNP, was quoted by agencies saying: “I am ready, my party is ready and we will win.”

Political analysts think Kumaratunga still retains an edge over the UNP, which is against the devolution package. But the fight will be tough and the president will be under pressure for not keeping her promise of ending the ethnic conflict.

But Kumaratunga is still likely to make solving the ethnic issue her main election plank. In an interview to ‘The Hindu’, an Indian newspaper, Oct 18 she said she would campaign for a second term on the basis of a commitment to solve the ethnic crisis.

“Our major plank will be the resolution of the ethnic problem,” the president said.

Since 1983, Tamil Tiger rebels who claim they represent the minority community have been fighting for an independent homeland called ‘Eelam’. Nearly 75,000 combatants and civilians have died in the war, restricted mainly to the north and east of the island.

Kumaratunga tried hard to strike a peace deal with the Tigers, achieving a truce in early 1995, but this was broken by the rebels after 100 days, forcing her to launch an intensive military campaign. The 16-year war continues unabated.

This apart the government is also grappling with problems of corruption and bribery which is on the rise.

Social unrest particularly crimes against women and children has sharply increased in the past few years as police are burdened with war duties — backing up government troops battling the rebels.

Economic growth trends have also slowed down this year due to various factors like lower exports and an overall fall in tea earnings.

However, political analysts have said the government has nothing to fear having won all the recent local government elections. The winner of a presidential polls needs only a simple majority to win, according to election laws.

Wednesday’s statement said Kumaratunga has called snap elections under article 31 of the Constitution which gives her the choice of calling early elections on completing four years of the six-year term.

Both Kumaratunga’s ruling People’s Alliance (PA) coalition party and the UNP have already begun their election campaigns.

While Wickremasinghe has been criss-crossing the island, addressing rallies and corner meetings, Kumaratunga has confined her public speeches to a few provinces but she has had a series of live question-and-answer sessions on state television.

Groups of villagers have questioned the president on a range of issues. Security considerations have restricted her public appearances.

Kumaratunga is high-up on a Tamil Tiger hit list. In July, the rebels masterminded the assassination of Neelan Tiruchelvam, leader of the moderate Tamil TULF party and one of Sri Lanka’s best known constitutional lawyers and rights activists.

In 1994 Gamini Dissanayake, a strong contender for the presidential post was killed in a bomb attack on his election meeting which is blamed on the separatist rebels. A Tiger woman member strapped with bombs had killed Rajiv Gandhi, a former Indian prime minister in 1991.

President Ranasinghe Premadasa was assassinated in May 1993, probably by Tamil Tigers who never own up responsibility for these crimes.