By D.B.S. Jeyaraj
Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga who celebrated her 60th birthday on June 29th is no
doubt proud and happy about her recent achievement. She stood firm and defiant in the face of
racist chauvinism masquerading as nationalist patriotism and pushed through her post - tsunami
joint mechanism project with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Encomiums of praise are being
showered upon her by the international community for her single minded commitment in making
the Post - Tsunami Operational Management Structure ( P- TOMS ) a reality. She fully deserves
all those compliments.
The battle however is not over. It is not even half won. In fact it has barely begun. Given the
protests and the demonstrations against signing the P-TOMS the very fact that it has been
officially sanctioned is certainly a great accomplishment. The time is not ripe to rest on laurels.
The real challenge will be to make this P-TOMS work in the teeth of stiff opposition and non -
cooperation. Ultimately the success of the P - TOMS will not be gauged by international kudos or
domestic political successs but by a simple and rudimentary measure. How swiftly, effectively and
equitably did the P- TOMS provide relief, rehabilitation , reconstruction and resettlement to the
North - Eastern victims of the Dec 26th 2004 tsunami?
The fact that bickering and procrastinating Sri Lankans could could forge a post - tsunami joint
mechanism only two days before the sixth month after the tsunami disaster speaks volumes about
this Island nation. The international donor community and Non - Governmental organizations were
all ready with aid and assistance immediately after the tsunami. The Sri Lankan state and polity
failed to measure up to these expectations and simply could not get their act together. Even now
international pressure was to a great extent responsible for the P- TOMS materialising.
What matters now is making the P- TOMS work. It has been the tragic history of ethnic relations in
this country that several agreements signed in the past were never honoured or implemented fully
at the required moment. Against that backdrop even this P- TOMS will be viewed with a great deal
of scepticism. On the one hand it may never get off the ground. Even if it starts working it may not
be properly administered and so might fail to deliver the goods.
Chandrikas greatest challenge in the coming months will be in making her brainchild work
effectively. She and only she has been the driving force behind the P- TOMS project. Ministers
who usually rally behind her like Mangala Samaraweera and Lakshman Kadirgamar have not
backed her fully on this. Her Prime Minister has been found wanting.Running away at a critical
moment and seeking refuge in his office is not becoming of a man seeking to lead the Country at
some time. Mahinda Rajapaksa has to learn that wearing the mantle of leadership is not as easy
as wearing the mantle of a "kurakkan" shawl and requires sterling qualities of courage and
decisiveness.
Two ministers who came off well in this crisis were Maithripala Sirisena and Sarath Amunugama.
There were also many deputy ministers like Dilan Perera who rose to the occasion. Despite all
their support the burden of making this P - TOMS lies in Chandrika alone. With the Janatha
Vimukthi Peramuna in the opposition the Government is now a minority. A minority government
lacks the power and strength to combat challenges effectively. Its greatest challenge will be to
survive. A hands - off Premier and minority government are not tremendous assets in making the
P- TOMS work. Besides the days of this present Parliament are numbered and for all practical
purposes reduced to a lame duck.
The onus therefore is on the executive president. Her powers, prestige and persona are needed
sorely in this respect.There is a problem there too. Kumaratunga too is virtually a lame duck
president. The United National Front holds that her term ends in December this year. She says
that her term ends in December next year. If it is indeed this year then Kumaratunga has only
another five months or more. If she continues till next year the opposition will not keep quiet. A
widespread campaign calling for her resignation will plague the Country. In that context effective
governance will be a problem and Kumaratunga can only be in the saddle without riding any
distance.
Then there is the opposition to the P - TOMS. It appears that the JVP and JHU have made this a
single issue to whip up opposition. The UNP as usual plays its "eel - like" politics. It professes
suport for the P- TOMS but will not hesitate to help increase opposition to it. The UNP statement
raising the "Sinhala" representation issue being an example of how low the greens could be when
they are green with envy. Interestingly even the JVP and JHU types did not focus on this aspect. It
was indeed comical to see the UNP cry out for the tsunami affected Sinhala people of the North -
East on the one hand and decry the Government nominating Sinhala representatives on the
other. So the UNP cannot be counted on in enabling the P- TOMS work and is quite capable of
throwing a spanner in the works whenever possible.
Then there is the JVP, JHU and all its hawkish appendages. The JVP may have blundered in
Parliament. Its demonstrations may not have drawn expected crowds. The situation however is too
early to speculate. There seems no doubt that the JVP is positioning itself for a long and
sustained campaign against the P-TOMS both within and outside Parliament. This could impact on
some like minded persons inside the SLFP and MEP too. The JVP is carefully maintaining a
distance with the JHU and other unadulterated racist forces in the campaign against the P- TOMS.
The" National Socialist " (Nazi) JVP has some more time before coming out in all its "Sinhala"
glory. Until then it will woo the non - LTTE tamils and Muslims. So having truck with the saffron
brigade is not to its advantage.
There is also the "saffron power" politics by the Hela Urumaya Bhikkus and the puppeteer
Champika Ranawaka. They too are very active opposing the P- TOMS. As long as Kumaratunga
has the Mahanayakes and truly intellectual Bhikkus on her side she has nothing to be concrned
greatly about. So far the Bhikkus have provided comic relie. One "unto death fastee" was seen
walking about at night time in the Maligawa. During day he was bed ridden. Another unto death
fastee was whisked away to hospital by fellow bhikkus themselves. Another brought a gasoline
tank and match box but wanted somebody else to do the honours. No burning desire for self -
immolation here. The problem could start if the saffron brigade takes a page out of the LTTE
manual and bite into cynaide capsules. Quick and certain death!
The Muslims are on the warpath and quite rightly too. They have been treated shabbily. The
Muslims unlike the JVP - JHU types are not opposing the P-TOMS. They are only protesting the
community not getting its due place. Rauff Hakeem and the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress being in
the opposition are not extending cooperation. Hakeem is busy campaigning in the East. Ferial and
others in the Government are ready to give it a shot despite their misgivings. Kumaratunga has
promised to nominate a Muslim as one of the Government nominees. The Muslims will also get
two deputy - chair positions in the regional committee.
We also have rumblings of discontent within the armed forces about P-TOMS. Some elements are
capable of putting spokes in the wheel. One possibility is getting Karuna and his boys to target
the LTTE and others involved in the P- TOMS in the East. If such a campaign begins and the
LTTE also increases its level of violence the Eastern situation could deteriorate. Moreover recent
pronouncements by Thamilselvan that upholding the ceasefire was more important than the P-
TOMS and the killings in Oorani etc show that the LTTE too cannot be taken for granted in this
instance.
Last but not least is the bureaucracy. Fifty tears of Sinhalaisation and politicisation has taen its
toll. It is one of the most corrupt, lazy, inefficient, slow bureacracies. There is systemic racism
inherent in its structures. This bureacracy loaded with Government servants loyal to a party and
anti - Tamil bureaucrats are sure to scuttle or at best slow down everything. The sorry mess that
has been made of tsunami relief by our bureaucracy is already the laughing stock of the world.
One reason for the international community insisting upon a separate mechanism for the North -
East was because it knew the bureaucracy was not up to the mark So massive input from a
dedicated political executive is needed to get this bureaucracy work.
The odds therefore are strongly against the P- TOMS succeeding when it comes to
implementation. The enemies of the P- TOMS whether racists, supremacists, national socialists,
opportunists, disgruntled minorities or lackeys of the arms dealers will definitely engage in a
campaign It may not be concerted but could certainly be widespread. It will take time to get going
but will certainly receive an impetus if and when the P_ TOMS exercise shows flaws or signs of
faltering.
The only effective answer to the P- TOMS detractors is by demonstration. Instead of responding
defensively to each and every bit of criticism (some of them utterly stupid and infantile) the
Government must get down to work in double quick time. If the P- TOMS starts working and shows
that its concern is only about tsunami relief then almost all of the Sinhala hawkish criticism could
prove irelevant and futile. If the P- TOMS gets further delayed in implementqation then even its
suporters will get disheartened and critics emboldened, So for all this the P- TOMS must work and
show results quickly.
It is up to President Kumaratunga. Only she can show the leadership required and galvanize the
mechanism into action. She must display the same amount of commitment and vigour she showed
in the past weeks in getting the P- TOMS forged. Now she must actively get it working. For this
she must not divert her energies elsewhere but focus on the P- TOMS. Her deputies could go to
the Country explaining matters while she starts implementing P- TOMS. All red tape must be cut in
hetting things moving. For this the Country's chief executive must get cracking.
One of the first bottlenecks to be removed is the unrealistic ban on coastal rebuilding and the 200
meter limit in the N- E. This has to be relaxed and the people allowed to return and rebuild at their
own risk. If this is done the people and the NGO's will together see to much of the rehabilitation.
Much of prevailing suspicion will disappear.
The plight of the tsunami affected people is pathetic. It is time that their lot is imporived quickly
and efficiently. For this the P- TOMS must work. Despite the odds being against Chandrika must
rise up to the challenge. The P- TOMS must be made a viable and effective mechanism. For this
Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga must devote all her energies and attention to the task at
hand. She is the woman of the hour as far as the P- TOMS is concerned. She must meet the
challenge and successfully finish what she started.