Some people don't change
As usual President Chandrika Kumarathunga's speech in the UN general assembly is full of confusion and contradictions. Not deviating from her pattern while speaking in Sri Lanka, the President has followed the same line in the august assembly failing to speak the truth and reflect ground realities.
Ina speech in the UN she made two points pertaining to the peace talks. One is that the LTTE is refusing to come to the table, the other being that the government prefers to speak on the final resolution. The President's accusation on the LTTE is far from the truth. The Liberation Tigers have at no stage expressed unwillingness to attend the peace talks. What they actually want is to affirm in advance what is to be talked about? It was the President who dissolved the UNF government at a time when the right atmosphere was in the making to recommence the negotiations. It is again the President's indecisiveness that has immensely contributed towards the deadlock. When the Norwegian facilitators were working overtime to kick-start the stalled peace process President Kumarathunga was changing postures. "The government is keen to talk on core issues", the President says at one tome. Then she goes on to say a government is ready to talk on the basis of the ISGA. Yet again there is talk of a counter proposal. Topping all this, the President came out with an 'innovative' National Advisory Board. All this and cacophony saw Norway haggling to stabilize an agenda for the much awaited recommencement of talks. Her second point that the government is interested in core issues than the ISGA. This is invariably pushing the crucial recommencement to a snake and the ladder play board. It has been accepted in enlightened circles that discussions on an interim mechanism prior to entering into negotiations for final resolution, is a sine qua non. In fact the President herself has gone on record to say that her government is ready to restart talks on the basis of ISGA. What then makes the President to speak on entirely different line in the international forum? Incidentally and strangely too, the opposition UNP has accused the government of releasing two different copies of President's speech in the UN. The one that was distributed to the international community on the 21st, the UNP says is different from the one that was released on the 22nd in Colombo. It is said that the former contained appreciation of Norway and criticism of the LTTE and these two elements appear to have been deleted in the latter. It is inevitable therefore to conclude that the President is attempting a deception on the international community and the electorate of Sri Lanka at one and the same time. To say that in so many words, appreciation of Norway in the former copy is intended to earn a good name from the international community, and deleting same from the latter copy to safeguard herself from the wrath of her expedient coalition partner JVP and like elements in the south. The fact that the President has not changed her style of creating confusions and contradictions perforce the Tamil people and by extension the LTTE to stipulate that the right conditions be created to demonstrate the sincerity of purpose on the part of the government for LTTE to enter into negotiations. Editorial of Eezhanatham Daily - 25.09.2004
25 September 2004
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Europe which has a total population of 800 million is made up of 45 language based nation states. South Asia which has a total population of one billion, (1000 million) is comprised of four states. Who is preventing and therefore benefiting by limiting new nation-states in South Asia?
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