Dr.P.A.Samaraweera

In an interview to a Sri Lankan Daily on 17th Jan. Ranil had said that the TNA leader Sampanthan, met Gen. Fonseka and he gave him the 10 point Programme which had been approved by all parties supporting him.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ With regard to Ranil’s meeting with Sampanthan he had added, “…Other issues which resolve to power sharing and all the matters are up to the Parliament and not Gen. Fonseka because he would cease to be the executive President and he has no political party to back him…”

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ So basically what he said was once the incumbent President is defeated Gen.(Retd) Fonseka will hand over the reins to Ranil and pack his bags! This is very unlikely because Gen. Fonseka had declared that he decided to retire as the post given to him was toothless. He is after power.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Thus it appears that in the opposition camp there seems to be so much uncertainty and trust. The UNP wants to get back on the saddle by whatever means. The TNA which represented the LTTE wants to merge the North and East. Now they say they are quite happy with the alliance and Sarath Fonseka despite his comment, “…Tamils and Muslims must learn to live as minorities in a land owned by the majority Sinhalese…”

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ With the 10 point Programme there seems to be some concern from other quarters. Two points in the Programme are a) Relocation of the high security Zones in the North and b) General amnesty to the LTTE fighters. Another issue discussed is the merging of the North and the East.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Commenting on the 10 point Programme the pro-LTTE Tamil Website says, “…Rajapakse and Fonseka are two sides of the same coin – Sinhala chauvinism. We have no great expectation from Fonseka but want to use him to defeat Rajapakse at any cost… Use one diamond to cut another…use his own general as a weapon to hit back and defeat him…”

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ This is exactly what the UNP and the JVP says, “Defeat Rajapakse at any cost”, obviously because he ended the war and brought peace to the country!

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ As against this, here is an extract from the Editorial of the Independent Indian Newspaper “Pioneer” of 16th January. “…The subcontinents experience with soldiers turned politicians-turned rulers has been extremely been traumatic and we definitely do not need a (Retd.) General as a President in our neighbourhood, no matter what path he chooses to enter high office. Sri Lanka would do well to reject Gen. Fonseka and re-elect President Rajapakse, not least because the latter has demonstrated his ability to rid the country of an ailment that palgued it for quarter of a century. His administrative skills are known as are his credentials. To reject him at the hustings would be to ignore his huge contribution to restoring peace to the nation after prolonged civil war. He deserves to win…”