zeenews.com,  Fri Feb  9 12:47:52 EST 2007

    New Delhi, Feb 09: Conceding that the peace pact with the Tamil Tigers was a mistake, Sri Lanka said it expects India to be "more sensitive" and lend "more support" to solve the conflict in the island nation.
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- The Academic

Over to you Hon. Ministers GL Peries, Milinda Moragoda...

You are the chief architects of this legend Peace Pact.
Do you guys agree with your new boss?

Negombo wrote:

Over to you Hon. Ministers GL Peries, Milinda Moragoda...

You are the chief architects of this legend Peace Pact.
Do you guys agree with your new boss?

what MR implies here that: YOU Peries and Moragoda don't think you are the smartest stallions in my barn.

GLPeiris and Milinda Moragoda were born again to take oaths as cabinet ministers in MR Govt.

So whatever the peace pact drafted by them and signed by Ranil was dead.

Mahinda R should have given them the Ministry of Defence and asked to continue with war and show positive results.


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Peace for Sri Lanka

well peace pact was not good at that time since it was not decided to take military as an option for liberation of the land areas from the terrorist, but now the strategy is different therefore anyone can ofcourse break it and ammend to suit the current conditions.

anyhow what has the forces acheived so far and what should be acheiced should be very well assesed before taking anyfurther steps, and this silent period they will gather their resources and consolidate their positions to show the world of their prowess therefore any such attempts should be curtailed and let the world know how incapable they to establish or even to represent tamil community as they wish to.

it is about time the forces started hunting the terrorist leader and their leadership and break any power they will have to reachout to their supporters abroad.

stopping now will not make things anybetter, unless this was a politically motivated onslaught as before.

Looks like now  MR's honeymoon is well and truly over. He has started showing all the signs of the typical corrupt SL politician - unscrupulous (the man has no principle, he makes and breaks MoUs at the drop of a hat - now the word MoU has become a joke in SL), unreliable (how can anyone trust his word any more - his own party people who worked hard to bring him to power, the world and last but not least the anti LTTE Tamils), shameless (who would give a minister position to a thief like the Fish Mudalali from Galle),

If he thinks that the peace pact was a mistake then one should look back 4 years. What was the situation then? The SL government was isolated in the world, corrupt or lethargic armed forces couldn't prevent attacks like Katunayake Air Port, LTTE appeared omnipresent and powerful with the whole nation appearing very much helpless. By design or accident Ranil's peace efforts gave the much needed oxygen to the country. People started moving freely (I agree that included LTTE future bombers too), tourism picked up, the economy was on the right path, the ever spiraling inflation was tamed. Above all, minority communities in the country started feeling a sense of great relief. The world started to see some promise in SL's future, non LTTE Tamils started to see an alternative to start a new life. It swung a whole heap of sympathy of the IC (most importantly of India) towards the SL government and its people and last but not the least the LTTE came out of the peace process much weaker, unpopular and toothless (mainly due to the internal conflicts like Karuna and its dramatic and stupid decision to bring MR into power - even to their own wellbeing).

MR is making just a political statement here and I am sure in his very heart he doesn't believe it. The JVP profound genius and Ranil haters can have a false sense of feeling vindicated when they hear this but to the much more open minded, it is undeniable that what Ranil did certainly helped creating the much better situation that MR is in today against the LTTE (I grant - even Ranil may not have foreseen this outcome when he entered into the peace pact).


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sp

SP, good to see you again after a long time!  We all missed you.

sp wrote:

The JVP profound genius and Ranil haters can have a false sense of feeling vindicated when they hear this but to the much more open minded, it is undeniable that what Ranil did certainly helped creating the much better situation that MR is in today against the LTTE (I grant - even Ranil may not have foreseen this outcome when he entered into the peace pact).

Although I agree what you say about Mahinda, I don't agree what you say about Ranil.  Contrary to what most people believe, Mahinda did not create the current situation.  The current mess is largely a product of the flawed nature of the CFA and peace process, which allowed the security forces and particularly military intelligence to be attacked with impunity by the LTTE.  Mahinda stepped into a situation where if he didn't do anything (ie Ranil and Chandrika policy), the security forces would've collapsed through sheer loss of morale.

The second problem which Mahinda walked into, also traceable to the CFA was the LTTE's de facto control over Jaffna.  The "boycott" during the 2005 presidential election was proof of this, and it was demonstrated even further with the "People's War" against the Army soon afterwards.  Interestingly, even the very anti-Mahinda DBS Jeyaraj argued that the "People's War" ended only after military intelligence and the EPDP started slaughtering the LTTE supporters in Jaffna, prompting the exodus of 3000 pro-LTTE families to the Vanni.

The third problem is Karuna, who is entirely a creation of the LTTE and its perverted nature.  In a large way, Karuna represents the future of the LTTE given longer years of getting no closer to Tamileelam, subsequent disillusionment, and finally the complete conversion to thuggery.  Here I would say the CFA indirectly produced him, as the situation of no hostilities brought the LTTE's internal divisions to the fore.

Mahinda's problem is his inability to deal with these problems in a clever way.  I would like to hear responses from different quarters what they would do if they were in his place.


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If the only tool you have is a hammer, you will see every problem as a nail.- Abraham Maslow

Taraki wrote:
"Mahinda's problem is his inability to deal with these problems in a clever way.  I would like to hear responses from different quarters what they would do if they were in his place."

If I was in his place, first thing I would do is to appoint a Tamil for the PM's post. Come up with a power sharing plan acceptable to all Tamils. If LTTE rejects this and continues its volence, I would proscribe LTTE and get full cooperation of JVP by accepting their proposals and go all out to destroy LTTE.

Thanks for your kind words Taraki. True I was not making any posts (I didn't have much to say because I thought MR was genuinely engaged in a two pronged attack in finding a lasting solution to the Tamil militancy - a political solution with one hand while fighting the war with the other. When he moved away from the JVP and entered into a MoU with the UNP I was very optimistic but with caution as you never know what these politicians are up to). In the mean time I was reading this forum with gusto especially to hear the voice of reason from people like you, SJ and many others.

I give MR (and his brother) a lot more credit than you are prepared to give for the resurgence of the GOSL forces. His handling of the security forces by not trying to micro manage the war and leaving it to the generals (unlike what CKB and her uncle did), his seemingly inclusive nature of leadership, not caving into the demands of the JVP and making peace with the UNP etc. gave the country (and the world) much hope.  He has sullied all this good work by acting like the typical corrupt politician lately. True, RW entered the MoU for his own political survival but MR could have exploited this arrangement to the benefit of the country (and his own political legacy) by building on it. By-partisan support is essential for removing the root cause of the regional grievances like Tamil militancy because that may need among other things - the changing of the constitution. You can't get the support of the JVP for this because their agenda is to come to power using the nationalism (translate - sinhala chauvinism) as their latest tool.

You mention about Karuna and I am as just as concerned as you are. By trying to eradicate a monster have we created a worse one? Perhaps you may not know but even the Sinhala press that is usually sympathetic towards eradicating the LTTE with the help of Karuna, has come out with that group's atrocities. The only way of preventing another monster in the form of Karuna is by genuinely addressing the grave hardships that the people in the east face by rapid development.


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sp

MR is not sending the right signal, he appears stressed out.
MR the Prez should give the right signals always, in regard to peace.

Quote:

Mawrata wrote:

If I was in his place, first thing I would do is to appoint a Tamil for the PM's post. Come up with a power sharing plan acceptable to all Tamils.

Right way to go. That's moving forward, and symbolically, coming of age decision.

This is a insane president due to power hungry opportunistic politics.If it is a mistake he could have abolished it from the day one he became to power.He should abolish it right now before it causes too much damage if he is honest.Ranil signed for the CFA for his own regime.But others can abolish it if they dont want it without critisizing it.That is the honest politics.But we see today corrupt politics.
If he honestly dosent like it, why he keeps GL,Karu who fathered it on the front benches of Govt.GL,Karu joined the Govt to strengthen the CFA & MOU.Mahinda accepted them.

Quote:

Negambo wrote
Over to you Hon. Ministers GL Peries, Milinda Moragoda...

You are the chief architects of this legend Peace Pact.
Do you guys agree with your new boss?

 Shhhhhhhh! If not we will get fired.  


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MAC

Quote:

Although I agree what you say about Mahinda, I don't agree what you say about Ranil. Contrary to what most people believe, Mahinda did not create the current situation. The current mess is largely a product of the flawed nature of the CFA and peace process, which allowed the security forces and particularly military intelligence to be attacked with impunity by the LTTE

. I agree that the war was restarted by the LTTE, who had shown even less interest in a genuine negotiated peace then the GOSL.

However the rot set in early in the peace process when the tacit agreement between Ranil and the LTTE (that they would be free to murder Tamils but would leave Sinhalese alone) came into play. Had Ranil reacted to that, instead of ignoring it because  he couldn't give a damm about the Tamils, things would never have escalated. But the problem was that Ranil did not want peace, he wanted the perceived absence of conflict so his support base could make money.

Now, if you are referring to the post 2004 election attacks, then I agree. It was the LTTE that restarted the war, but Mahinda should not have allowed them to think his government would eschew all international support, as indeed in practise it is so doing.

Quote:

The second problem which Mahinda walked into, also traceable to the CFA was the LTTE's de facto control over Jaffna. The "boycott" during the 2005 presidential election was proof of this, and it was demonstrated even further with the "People's War" against the Army soon afterwards. Interestingly, even the very anti-Mahinda DBS Jeyaraj argued that the "People's War" ended only after military intelligence and the EPDP started slaughtering the LTTE supporters in Jaffna, prompting the exodus of 3000 pro-LTTE families to the Vanni.

Of course, the problem would have nothing to do with the existence of a foreign occupying force of 40,000 + troops. There was not a slaughter of LTTE members that Jeyaraj referred to, more a wholesale flight after the extra-judicial killings renewed. And even these were unnneccessary. Bring back the PTA and intern them. It is idiotic to claim that the CFA prevents internment of possible security threats so the government will take out a contract to murder them instead. And the result of that contract has of courrse been the killing fields that we are now seeing in Jaffna, and to a lesser extent in Batticaloa and Colombo.

Quote:

The third problem is Karuna, who is entirely a creation of the LTTE and its perverted nature. In a large way, Karuna represents the future of the LTTE given longer years of getting no closer to Tamileelam, subsequent disillusionment, and finally the complete conversion to thuggery. Here I would say the CFA indirectly produced him, as the situation of no hostilities brought the LTTE's internal divisions to the fore.

Karuna and his allies in the SLA are doing more than any leader in Lanks's history to ensure the country gets annexed by India. Perhaps we ought to be buying tickets for the Bollywood homage.

Quote:

Mahinda's problem is his inability to deal with these problems in a clever way. I would like to hear responses from different quarters what they would do if they were in his place.

The problem lies in the interpretation of the word clever. If there's one thing that typifies the Sinhala ., together with his Egyptian and no doubt other equivalents, it is the belief that he is being clever and getting one over you. Since 1948 the Sri Lankan politicians have been trying to show how clever they are by getting one over the other guy. The result has been a disaster. Take the question of the Indian Tamils; Nehru refused to accept them back, because, unlike Senayake who thought he'd found a neat way to snitch power from the Communists, he felt it was simply wrong to assent to the deportation of people from their home.  In the end they got citizenship because CBK, who'd long been told she wasn't as clever as her brother, took advantage of the heart she'd been told had to be used in compensation.

If you don't know what to do, eliminate what not to do. And a normal moral person will tell you you don't bomb schools, murder taxi drivers, kidnap businessmen, allow your allies to recruit child soldiers when you've been complaining to high heaven about your enemies doing it, or get your government representatives to lie through thier teeth to the media, and a normal-sized etc.

The truth is that all Mahinda needs to do to solve problems is to follow the dhamma. Unfortunately in Sri Lanka at present he might have a goddamawful job of finding it.

Quote:

If I was in his place, first thing I would do is to appoint a Tamil for the PM's post.

Tokenism, and quite unecessary even if one could be found who combined the rare talents of being capable to do the job, with being prepared to accept it.

Dear sp

sp wrote:

I give MR (and his brother) a lot more credit than you are prepared to give for the resurgence of the GOSL forces. His handling of the security forces by not trying to micro manage the war and leaving it to the generals (unlike what CKB and her uncle did), his seemingly inclusive nature of leadership, not caving into the demands of the JVP and making peace with the UNP etc. gave the country (and the world) much hope.

It still remains to be seen how Mahinda will deal with the LTTE in the North.  Fighting there will not be the same as in the East.

sp wrote:

The only way of preventing another monster in the form of Karuna is by genuinely addressing the grave hardships that the people in the east face by rapid development.

Good answer.  Now how will this work if Karuna comes to power via Eastern Provincial Council election?


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If the only tool you have is a hammer, you will see every problem as a nail.- Abraham Maslow