For long in corrosive cohabitation with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe, President Chandrika Kumaratunga today dropped a thunderbolt on her island nation when she fired his key ministers, ordered troops out, blocked all roads leading to Colombo and suspended Parliament until November 19. Three days after the LTTE unfolded a set of negotiating demands with the government — Kumaratunga says the government is trying to buy peace with too many concessions to the Tamil Tigers — the grande dame of Sri Lankan politics struck swiftly and brought her country to a standstill. From Washington, where he was due to meet President George Bush, Wickremasinghe warned of trouble in the offing: ‘‘The irresponsible and precipitous action of the President is aimed at plunging the country into chaos and anarchy.’’ On the Island, An uneasy relationship • Chandrika comes to power in 1994, her Peoples’ Alliance coalition ending 17 years of United National Party rule • As new President, she begins by extending a hand of friendship to LTTE. All this evaporates within six months • Campaigning for a second term as President in 1999, she survives an LTTE assassination bid. She’s re-elected • In December 2001, Chandrika’s party is defeated by UNP; rival Ranil Wickremasinghe becomes PM • Ranil revives the Norwegian-brokered peace process • Govt signs a ceasefire deal with LTTE in February 2002 • At the Dec 2002 talks in Norway, the govt, LTTE agree to share power • In May this year, annoyed Chandrika signals she may dismiss the government if too many concessions are made to LTTE • On Nov 1, LTTE ends boycott of talks, unveils blueprint for power-sharing • On Nov 4, Chandrika strikes after her party rejects LTTE plan. He asked Sri Lankans to remain calm, saying ‘‘I pledge to you the people, your government will not allow this desperate and irresponsible attempt to undermine the peace process and economic prosperity of the people to succeed.’’ But the pro-Tiger Tamilnet website said the President’s actions had ‘‘dimmed’’ prospects for peace, adding that the status of the ceasefire had become uncertain. One of Kumaratunga’s first orders was to block the A-9 highway that connects Colombo with Jaffna, the major city in the island’s north controlled by the Tigers. Her sacking of Defence minister Tilak Marapana (she left the Transport portfolio with him), Interior minister John Amaratunga (he’s left with the Christian Affairs department) and Information minister Imthiaz Bakeer Markar and all bureaucrats involved in day-to-day affairs of these ministries, were clearly aimed at concentrating key organs of state power in her hands. Kumaratunga is elected separately from the Prime Minister and Parliament, and has vast powers under the constitution. Announcing the dismissal of the ministers, the President’s office said: ‘‘This step has been taken after careful consideration, in order to prevent further deterioration of the security situation in the country.’’ New Delhi, ‘‘in continuous and close contact’’ with both Kumaratunga and Wickremasinghe, had been reading the signals but was careful with its reaction. The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson said: ‘‘We are surprised at the sudden political development in Sri Lanka today. We hope the situation doesn’t provoke a constitutional crisis which would impact on political stability in Sri Lanka and on the ongoing peace process. We also hope that a way can be urgently found through political dialogue to avoid these adverse consequences.’’ It is more than likely, however, that Kumaratunga’s visit to New Delhi from November 7-13 will now be called off as will the November 14-17 trip of G L Peiris, leader of the Sri Lankan team negotiating for peace with the LTTE. Analysts said New Delhi’s ‘‘bottomline interest’’ would be to see whether Kumaratunga would implement the variety of initiatives so ambitiously promised during Wickremasinghe’s visit a fortnight ago. The joint statement signed during the visit contains landmark measures such as a Defence cooperation agreement, which includes ongoing cooperation in military training and supply of equipment, an open sky civil aviation policy with Sri Lanka as well as joint action on terrorism. Under the circumstances, India was also not likely to agree with extreme views being voiced by a number of Western nations that the Norwegian-sponsored peace talks had been sabotaged by the latest move. Opinion was divided whether an early result of the current crisis was a snap poll. A statement from Kumaratunga’s party, the Sri Lankan Freedom Party (SLFP), today said the President had declared a state of emergency because she was concerned about the proposals put forth by the LTTE over the weekend which would have weakened the federal character of the nation. India, a silent but major supporter of the peace process, had made it clear to Colombo it would be fully committed to the peace process as long as the goal was a fully sovereign Sri Lanka, its territorial integrity and federal character intact. The litmus test for Kumaratunga over the next few weeks will be her ability to balance the Tigers’ demands for significant autonomy with the expectation of the Sri Lankan people to continue keeping the peace that Wickremasinghe managed for the last couple of years. After 18 years of civil strife, in which over 60,000 people had been killed, an exhausted Sri Lanka had only begun to taste the fruits of peace under Wickremasinghe. Investments were up fourfold with India becoming the top investor in the island after the bilateral Free Trade treaty. Also up was tourism revenue with India replacing Britain, Germany and other nations as the top arrival source. A special economic partnership between New Delhi and Colombo too is on the anvil. Still, Sri Lanka’s ‘‘mini-coup’’ this afternoon was swift, decisive and sudden. Kumaratunga, commander-in-chief of the nation’s army, navy and air force, has siezed the controls. Under the circumstances, the budget that was supposed to have been brought to vote on November 12 will now be delayed. But analysts said there’s no guarantee that Kumaratunga would reconvene Parliament on November 19, pointing out she has the right to keep it suspended for three months. (Scott McDonald is with Reuters in Colombo)
