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Controversy rages again around the Peace Process as it trundles along its rather erratic path and the latest dispute which has surfaced involves the irregularity of presenting two related docoments pertaining to the Draft Proposals for a Provisional Administrative Structure for the North and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka- two documents relating to the identical aforementioned topic sent in the space of a week, one to the LTTE with no copy to the President and the other with discrepancies relative to the original version, ammended and sent to the President where the LTTE's preponderances towards feasibility an acceptance lean towards the first document which favours them in a huge aberration of not only the security of the Sinhala Nation but also violates the Sri Lankan Constitution.
Confronted by the PA and Presidential opposition and embarrassingly for the UNF Administration there has been a contradiction in an official UNF news release to the media which first indicated that no written proposals were sent to the LTTE and hastily changed to incorporate a SundayTimes News Item which confirmed that the proposals were indeed sent to the LTTE as final although no copy of same was ever recieved by the President which is being contested by the President for credibility and legality within the Constitution as the indications of either a deliberate scam to mislead the Nation and its Presidency or a discrepancy through an Administrative error at the highest leve seem to be the likely possibilities in evaluating the reality of it all.
The first document dated 15th July was taken by Norwegian Ambassador Westborg to the LTTE on 17th July. It was published in the Sunday Times of 20th July.
The second document was sent by The Prime Minister to the President dated 18th July according to the Prime Ministerial Chief Spokesman who argues that there are no significant differences between the two but in fact the differences are glaringly and alarmingly visible to the discerning eye.
The first document has five introductory paragraphs of a preambular nature justifying the establishment of a provisional administrative arrangement to enable the LTTE to participate significantly in decision making related to administration, and rebuilding the war damaged infrastructure of the two provinces. This document envisages either two chairpersons - one from the LTTE and the other from the government, or one chairperson.
The second document (the one sent to the President) contemplates two co-chairs, each with a veto. In this document there are no introductory paragraphs at all.
It leaves little to conjecture that based upon the discrepancies between the two documents and the guile and craftiness displayed by the UNF in witholding the one which sounds favourable to the LTTE from being submitted to the President in an identical format that there is every possibility of a hidden agenda either mutually agreed upon by the UNF and LTTE, rather curious though considering LTTE theatrics of late but in retrospect totally unacceptable as Administrative powers and functions have been superceded and overwritten in favour of the Council in the letter sent to the LTTE whereas it says nothing.
According to verifiable news sources it has been reported"The most significant substantive discrepancy between the two documents comes in the paragraph dealing with the powers and functions of the Proposed Council. In the first document (published by the Sunday Times) "the powers and functions are at present being exercised and performed by the Government in respect of regional administrations, "except" in the areas of police, security, land and revenue", are vested in the Council. In the second document (sent to the President) all powers and functions are vested in the Council, and the words "except in the areas of "police, security, land and revenue" are missing. In other words, in the second document (received by the President) even those powers are vested in the Council, not in the central government.
The all important Presidential and Opposition party question now being asked is "how did this very serious discrepancy arise, and who was responsible and why was the President pre-empted in contravention of her constitutional rights in being misled by the presentations of two unidentical drafts? "
The publication in the news media suggests that the realities behind this bizzare scenario represents factually that quote "even the Cabinet, let alone the public, would not have known the substance of the proposals made by the UNP government to the LTTE on such a critical issue as the establishment of a new Provincial Council not presently authorized by law.
If the document sent to the LTTE through Ambassador Westborg on 17th July (excluding police, security, land and revenue powers) is the correct and only one as quoted by the Prime Minister's office why then was the President sent a different and incorrect one (showing that police, security, and revenue powers are to be vested in the Council)? Why was the President sent an outdated document? Were two documents, which differ on a substantial matter, actually sent to the LTTE? If not, why did the Prime Minister's letter to the President state that the document enclosed with his letter was "requested to be conveyed to the LTTE by the Norwegian Facilitators?" On which document is the LTTE actually working - the one with exclusion of police, security, land and revenue powers, or the one with their inclusion? This mystery has to be unravelled for a rather circumspect Nation to now rest easy!
The President in her usual disciplined no nonsense stance has unequivocally stated that she will not parley favourably with the Prime Minister as in the undivided opinion of her caucases a Provisional Council for the administration of the North and East should be firmly anchored in a broad framework of principles and objectives that will lead unquestionably to an acceptable final settlement of the national problem. Otherwise a Provincial Council could develop a life of its own and drift away beyond the reach of the rest of the country.
The inference from the President's tone of voice is that in the simplest of terms through all the posturings and meanderings of the UNF and its double standards and contradictions, the Proposed Interim Administration is a sell out of National Values and its Security in a near conspiratorial manner to a terrorist group with no legal mandate for their continued existence by an undiscerning Administration which has spared little thought towards integrity and solidarity in the best interests of the Nation and that she has no intention of being a part of it!
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