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JVP Finds World Bank Representative's Definition Of LTTE Rights In the North and North East Contentious And Rightfully So!
It comes as no surprise that the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna finds a statement
made by a Mr. Peter Harold, representative of the World Bank in Sri Lanka
published in ‘Sunday Times’ on the 6th March,somewhat contentious
and an affront to Sri Lanka's integrity as it violates the sovereignty
of Sri Lanka and has issued a scathing press release on the 6th March
2005 which speaks volumes for the direction in which certain bipartisan
LTTE supporters seem to be headed where the likes of opposition leader
Ranil Wickremasinghe and his merrie men seem also to be a party in support
as suggested by reliable sources but unconfirmed!! Perhaps their relative
silence on the issue speaks for itself as an overview of their suggested
leanings towards the Harold opinion!
Mr.Harold is reported to have made the statement to the newspaper regarding
Tsunami aid to 'un-liberated' areas and seems to have overstepped legitimate
concepts of Sri Lanka's Sovereignity by his statement and appears to have
gone beyond his scope of expected activity as the representative of the
World Bank in Sri Lanka. There seems to be a ring of familiarity here
towards an attitude the Norwegian Peace keepers have also acquired a reputation
foras the discerning mind wonders whether Norway might indeed be an inspiration
for Mr.Harold's unwelcome rhetoric?
He probably needs to be brought down a peg or two towards muzzling his
verbal expressionism on the topic of LTTE rights which by definition are
non existent! while also reminding him of the difference by the same definition
between an armed terrorist group responsible for an internal armed insurrection
within a Sovereign Nation and the Sovereign Nation itself whose sole rights
to its overall territories are inalienable despite being squatted on by
the insurgents until they are rermoved or discouraged from continuing
what Sri Lanka views as a constitutional and legal violation. It has to
be borne in mind that Sri Lanka has not granted any officialdome towards
any territories allegedly annexed by the LTTE in the North and East of
Sri Lanka and the Harold dialogue has to be interpreted as an indiscretion
to which he had no right to and thereby the indignation of the JVP and
others of similar acquiescence which needs to be put in perspective!.
By his statement to the press he has directly challenged the Sovereignty
of Sri Lanka as many discerning minds spearheaded by those within the
JVP question? The rights of a representative of the World Bank to be officious
enough say that quote " The LTTE organization maintains an unofficial
state within Sri Lanka? and has probably made this contentious statement
based on his conceptions of the “ceasefire agreement” signed
by Ranil Wickremasinghe and Velupillai Pirapaharan. The JVP has maintained
all along that it was a treacherous agreement which attempts to give statehood
to separatist terrorism which has neither legitimate cause for recognition
within Sri Lanka or the World nor credence towards any granting of provisions
for a pro-tem administration by the LTTE in this areas which is completely
false and misleading towards the reality that the LTTE's sojourn in these
areas will only last until they are competely eliminated as contestants
through whatever means they choose to in the face of assertive undaunting
legitimate opposition towards securing the complete sovereignity of Sri
Lanka pursued by the Status Quo!.
To further compound the contentiousness of this individual it has been
revealed that he in his capacity as a World Bank representative has even
had the affront to make undiplomatic and indiscretionary comments on the
handling of internal political matters by the Sri Lankan Administration
where He has blatantly suggested that it would be naïve to think
that anybody could carry out operations successfully in the North and
the East without having a dialogue with the Tiger organization! perhaps
true by hypothetical interpretation of a pre-Tsunami perspective but somewhat
unrealistic as the depletions of the LTTE of today bear testimony to and
a certain sense of capitulation and subservience seems to be forthcoming
by the LTTE towards their own survival which many expert analysts foresee
as an eventuality should all attempts by the LTTE to regroup are effectively
thwarted and the powerful forces in quest of bringing in some of its criminal
element to justice be made manifest and they are coralled into submission
and consequently Mr. Howard and his Aides de Camp may have to acquire
new thinking caps and tone down the dialogue!
Towards the process of educating the likes of Mr.Howard who has more than
likely brought disrepute to the organization he represents and also taken
liberties to make references to the Patriotic National Movement and its
shortcomings it needs to be made pellucidly clear that by expressing his
views in this self opinionated manner it seems as though a representative
of the WB has taken over the function of an opposition politician in a
role critical of the ruling parties and Administration rather than a representative
of the World Bank. He seems to have forgotten a basic tenet of parliamentary
democtracy that an elected Sovereign State with the mandate of the people
has the right to execute functions regardless of whether or not a single
individual representing the World Bank such as himself defines somewhat
myopically as being 'naive'and that these functions are executed not according
to the mindset of this World Bank representative, but according to the
wishes of the people and the constitutionalised statutes of the land.
As a response to Peter Harold, the representative of the World Bank under
reference and his statement, there has been a communique issued by the
JVP that it vehemently opposes the content of Mr.Harold's dialogue defining
the rights of the LTTE in the North and East of Sri Lanka as he sees them
and demands that the relevant statement which undermines Sovereignty of
Sri Lanka and challenges the authority of the State be withdrawn immediately.
If not the JVP has recommended that the World Bank should take steps to
withdraw their representative immediately as expressed in the JVP communique
and exhorts all patriotic forces to come forward in order to defend the
Motherland from the conspiracies of local and international forces.
( The Sunday Times article of 6th March 2005 is fully re-produced here with due credits, acknowledgements and permissions)
WB giving Rs. 6 b. for Tiger areas
Country director insists LTTE a key stakeholder
The World Bank will channel six billion rupees through State agencies
for the rebuilding of houses in LTTE-controlled areas but will consult
the LTTE on the disbursement of funds, a senior official said yesterday.
World Bank Country Director Peter Harrold told The Sunday Times the projects
were for tsunami victims and those displaced in the two decades of war.
He said the World Bank was considering the LTTE as a key stakeholder.
"I have often been roasted by sections of the media and the Patriotic
National Movement because they considered our consultation with the LTTE
inappropriate.
"Given the fact that there is an officially recognized LTTE-controlled
area, a kind of unofficial state, and since it is a party to the ceasefire
agreement with the Government, the LTTE has the status of a legitimate
stakeholder," he said.
Mr. Harrold said it would be naïve for anybody, including the Government,
to think that they could successfully carry out operations in the North
and East without having a dialogue with the LTTE or without bringing it
in as a stakeholder.
The World Bank grant to the LTTE-controlled area is part of an overall
aid package to Sri Lanka for the tsunami-affected and internally displaced
people. The overall aid will be about 22.5 billion rupees which will be
partly a grant and partly a loan on soft terms.
Of this amount, about 15 billion rupees is for the tsunami-affected and
more than 70 % of this will be spent for rehabilitation and building of
houses in the North and East.
Mr. Harrold said this provisional support from the World Bank had to be
driven by needs and not politics. "This is a human disaster and the
fact of the matter is that the housing damage by the tsunami disproportionately
hit the North-East."
Of the total, 7.5 billion rupees has been allocated for people displaced
by the war. "A lot of it will be used in the Wanni and the Jaffna
peninsula," Mr. Harrold said.
"If you accept the basic rationale as to why the World Bank is around
-- to alleviate poverty -- you will have to accept that we will work in
these areas where the largest numbers of poor exist. And if we are going
to work in the North and East, then it is only right and proper to talk
to the LTTE and engaging with it can only be good for the peace process
in Sri Lanka," the World Bank Country Director said.
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