POLITICS-SRI LANKA: Deal With Marxists Raises Doubts

By Feizal Samath Reprint | | Print |

Feizal Samath

COLOMBO, Sep 7 2001 (IPS) - Sri Lanka’s ruling People’s Alliance (PA) cobbled together a working arrangement with the country’s Marxists, which appears to salvage a tottering government but could create more woes to the war and drought-hit country.

“It is a good and positive agreement but the viability of the deal is suspect given the stringent conditions contained,” said Jehan Perera, media director at the National Peace Council (NPC), a Norwegian- backed local peace group.

The PA coalition on Thursday praised its landmark deal – effective till September 2002 – with the Marxist People’s Liberation Front (JVP) which also paves the way for national polls in one year under a caretaker government.

“This is a good agreement and wipes out conspiratorial forces bent on overthrowing the government,” said Mangala Samaraweera, former minister and chief PA spokesman.

JVP spokesman Wimal Weerawansa said the pact ensured the defeat of local and foreign forces bent on overthrowing the state and was aimed at providing relief to the people.

Political analysts say that they believe the reference to foreign forces was a shot at the United States and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), who appear to be dismayed by the marriage between the PA and the country’s main Marxists.

US Ambassador Ashley Wills has vociferously denied newspaper reports that he was trying to arrange an alliance between the ruling party and the main opposition United National Party for a workable administration.

Talks between the country’s two main protagonists collapsed last week, prompting the PA to turn to the JVP and its 10 members in parliament for support.

Under Wednesday’s memorandum of understanding, in which the JVP has promised the government the support of its 10 parliamentary members, the PA has agreed to dissolve parliament within a year and hold national polls under a caretaker regime while the Marxist group has promised to help sustain a stable government.

The government has agreed to set up a constitutional council and independent commissions dealing with the public service, the judiciary, elections department and police by October, while preparing legislation to create an independent media commission within six months.

The agreement also ensures that steps would be taken to prevent further price increases in essential food items such as rice, flour, sugar, milk powder, fuel, electricity, gas and water.

“If there are plans to privatise public or social property such as water resources, banks, insurance ventures, the PA agrees to withhold such action during a one-year period this MoU remains valid,” the MoU said.

NPC’s Perera said the provision on price control of essential foods could throw the agreement off gear. “These economic conditions by the JVP cannot be sustained by a battered economy,” he said.

Sri Lanka’s economy has been devastated by an 18-year old Tamil rebel revolt for a separate state for minority Tamils. In recent months, the economy has taken a further beating through a prolonged drought that has led to crippling power cuts and a water shortage, resulting in an international appeal for drought relief for close to one million affected people.

On July 24, Tamil rebels launched a daring attack on the country’s only international airport and neighbouring airbase, destroying more than a dozen aircraft belonging to national carrier SriLankan Airlines and the airforce.

The attack reduced by half the fleet of SriLankan Airlines, considerably cutting flights and schedules. Foreign insurers also raised premiums on planes and ships calling over at Colombo.

Perera said it would be impossible not to raise prices or resort to subsidies in a deflated economy. Prices of diesel and gas have risen by nearly 100 percent in the past 18 months due to rising world prices, which has set off a chain reaction in the cost of essential goods.

Nawaz Rajabdeen, vice president of Sri Lanka’s powerful Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FCCI), said moves to ensure good governance and transparency were good in the pact but there were doubts as to the sincerity of the JVP with relation to peace talks.

“The JVP stand has always been war and not peace. I don’t think they will change it now, although the agreement is vague on this issue,” he said, warning that the JVP and its 10 MPs were dictating terms to 109 MPs from the PA.

“There would be chaos, infighting particularly since many ministers will lose their jobs,” he added. The cabinet is to be trimmed to 20 positions from a current 44.

Other demands by the JVP in the MoU include finding short-term solutions for the country’s small industry sector that has been virtually wiped out by an economic slowdown and cheaper imports and halting construction on the new but costly presidential palace just outside the capital.

The agreement also puts a one-year moratorium on proposed devolution of power, mainly to help minority Tamils, “unless a broad consensus is reached through a wide-ranging dialogue” with a cross section of society.

Political analysts said this effectively scuttles the peace process in which Norway is trying to bring the government and Tamil rebels to the negotiating table.

In recent weeks, several businessmen – individually and collectively – have formed associations urging the government and the rebels to re-start talks which were last held in 1995. The Norwegian-led effort to bring the sides together since last year has been put on the backburner as the PA struggled to retain power.

Dr Nadeem Ul Haq, IMF representative in Colombo, was cautious in his comments on the new alliance. While welcoming the good governance provisions including a reduced cabinet, he told reporters that good governance also includes reducing the budget deficit and the need to proceed with structural reforms.

Sri Lanka received an IMF standby facility of more than 250 million U.S. dollars earlier this year to implement key economic reforms including selling off loss-making state enterprises and reducing the budget deficit which has ballooned due to high war spending and related costs.

Economists said it would be difficult to continue with the reforms given the JVP demand for a freeze on the prices of essential goods.

The two sides agreed to set up a panel composed of priests from different religions, trade union bosses, and representatives of the business community and other professions to supervise the agreement.