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Sri Lankaâs Leader Suspends Parliament and Deploys Troops
In a surprise move Sri Lankaâs president suspended parliament, fired three top government ministers and deployed troops at key buildings in the capital of Colombo today, the state-run news media reported. The move sparked a political crisis in the country and fueled fears that a two-year cease-fire between government forces and ethnic Tamil rebels would collapse. Sri Lankan political analysts said President Chandrika Kumaratunga appeared to be trying to severely weaken her bitter political rival, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. President Kumaratunga has harshly criticized the prime minister for making too many concessions in peace talks with the rebel group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The prime minister was in Washington meeting senior American officials today and is scheduled to meet with President Bush on Wednesday. Mr. Wickremesinghe issued a statement in Washington accusing the Sri Lankan president of trying to derail the peace process.
| Why is that phrase so often a synonym for engaging in self-preservation? |
"The irresponsible and precipitous action of the president is aimed at plunging the country into chaos and anarchy," the prime minister wrote, according to the Associated Press. "I therefore call upon all of the people, the armed forces, police and public service to remain calm and vigilant in the face of this deliberate attempt to endanger the peace process."
| "Yeah. Make sure you remain calm and vigilant in the face of... ummm... the president." |
Both the president and prime minister were elected to their posts, but the president has far more power under Sri Lankaâs constitution. The presidentâs term runs out in 2005. The prime ministerâs term runs out in 2007. Citing a deteriorating security situation in the country today, the president fired the prime ministerâs appointees in the three key government ministries â defense, interior and state-run media. She also suspended parliament, where the prime ministerâs party holds a slim two-seat majority, for two weeks. TamilNet, a Web site with close ties to the Tamil rebels, reported that the presidentâs move had "dimmed" hopes for an end to a 20-year civil war that has killed 65,000 people. Tamils, who are Hindus, said they took up arms to defend themselves from Sri Lankaâs majority Sinhalese community, who are Buddhists.
| Ceylon's been independent of India for about 2500 years, with a distinctive culture founded in Lesser Vehicle Buddhism. For most of those 2500 years, such Tamils as have immigrated have been absorbed into the Sinhalese population. The latest batch of immigrants have decided they can't abide the locals and have want to gnaw off a part of the country for themselves. |
"We are carefully monitoring and studying the developments," the Web site quoted Daya Master, the rebelâs media coordinator, as saying. "Based on this, our leadership will decide what to do."
| My guess is that they'll continue drafting kiddies and blowing people up. They figure if the Muslims can get away with it, so can they. |
After six rounds of negotiations led by Norway and backed by the United States, peace talks stalled in April. The rebels walked out, saying the government had done too little to rehabilitate the war-ravaged northeast. On Saturday, the rebels issued a proposal where they dropped their central demand for an independent Tamil state.
| Decided to go for the whole country, did they? |
The group, which controls much of the countryâs north and east, called for the establishment of a Tiger-dominated interim administration, which would have sweeping power over everything from land to justice in those areas.
| "Yeah. We won't be 'independent.' We'll just do as we damned well please and the gummint can butt the hell out." |
The prime ministerâs government responded that the two sidesâ proposals differed "in fundamental respects," but said talks should continue. President Kumaratungaâs party, by contrast, flatly rejected the rebel proposal and said the prime minister was doing too little to ensure that the rebels were not simply rearming to fight another day. The United States has declared the group, the Tamil Tigers, a terrorist organization. It has carried out more suicide bombings than any other group or movement in the world.
| But that's okay. Just let them have a third of the country for themselves, until they decide they want the whole thing. |
Jayadeva Uyangoda, head of the Political Science Department at the University of Colombo, said in a telephone interview from Colombo that the president must be cautious. If war erupts, she could be blamed. "Itâs not very clear about the next move of the president," he said. "The country is in for some degree of political uncertainty and instability for some time to come."
| Self-preservation sometimes does that... |
Rohan Edrisinha, director of the Center for Policy Alternatives, a nonprofit institute in Colombo, said the most dangerous scenario involved the president, who is commander of the army, ordering the armed forces to make a provocative move against the rebels. The rebels could respond and fighting would resume.
| Provoke them? Somebody's moved in and set up shop in a substantial part of your country and you don't want to provoke them? |
The streets of Colombo were calm tonight, Sri Lankan observers said. But they said that the epic political struggle between the countryâs two leading politicians was entering a dangerous new phase. "Probably she felt this is the time to strike," Mr. Edrisinha said in a telephone interview from Colombo. "A lot could happen in the next four to five days."
Posted by: chriskarma 2003-11-04 |
