Fonseka gives 10 assurances to TNA, silent on ethnic question

Opposition presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka has given 10 assurances, including scrapping of the emergency laws, restoration of civil administration in the war-torn north and east, resettlement of displaced Tamils and disbanding of para-military and other armed groups, to the Tamil National Alliance in return for its support to him.

The pro-LTTE Tamil website www.pathivu.com has made public the agreement between Gen(Retd) Fonseka and TNA leader R Sampanthan and also published a photo of the two in deep discussion.

According to this site, Gen Fonseka has also promised to relocate troops from high security zones, after taking the security implications into consideration, so that people uprooted from these places can go back to their homes.

In another move, he has said civilian areas will be demilitarized and only armed forces and police will be allowed to carry arms.

As regards IDPs, efforts will be made to resettle them in their original homes through the teams set up to demine affected areas. Where their homes have been destroyed in the war, alternative accommodation will be provided and they will be given assistance to restart their lives. Besides supply of food ration, infrastructure facilities like hospitals and schools will be recreated in their areas of habitation.

Gen Fonseka has also promised to restore to owners all agricultural lands occupied by the army.

On alienation of government land, a committee will be set up to ensure all communities get their due.

To restore fishing rights to fishermen without compromising on security,a committee of fishermen and representatives of the navy will be set up.

All restrictions on movement of people and goods will be restricted and severe action will be taken against extortionists.

Action will be taken to restore the Colombo-Jaffna rail service. All hurdles to restoration of shipping and air services will be removed. A new railway line will be built between Point Pedro and Trincomalee.

A special scheme will be evolved to provide relief to the next of kin of those killed in the war and those maimed.

All those under detention against whom there are no criminal charges will be released within a month. The fighters will be given a general amnesty.

As part of the move to restore civil administration, the President will appoint committees in each district consisting of local government officials, and representatives of Parliament and the provincial councils, representatives from the police and the armed forces to evolve an action plan. A special secretariat will be set up in the President's office to monitor the progress based on the feedback given by these committees. People will be given freedom of movement without hindrance from the armed forces and the police. To the extent possible, Tamil-speaking police officers will be appointed in Tamil majority areas.

Commenting on the agreement, the website has expressed doubt as to what extent it will be implemented given the history of broken pacts.

However, it says both President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Gen Fonseka represent two sides of the same coin, Sinhala chauvinism. However, they hold President Rajapaksa responsible for "bringing them to the streets nearly a year ago" and want to use the election to get even with him, by "using one diamond to cut another". In other words, "the Tamil people have no great expectations from Sarath Fonseka".

Instead of boycotting the election and thereby allow the President to permanently enslave them, the Tamil people want to use the vote as a weapon to hit back at him, using his own general, the website has said.

Significantly, the agreement made public by the website makes no mention about how Fonseka plans to solve the ethnic problem which still remains though the war with the LTTE has come to an end.

Perhaps the TNA has focussed on getting the immediate problems of the Tamils solved by voting him to power and take up substantive issues like devolution with his backers like the UNP and the

JVP, which ironically represent two extremes of the political spectrum, with the UNP seemingly more liberal towards the Tamils than the SLFP and the JVP remaining ultra-nationalist.

- mAsian Tribune -