HomeChandrika tries to set records straight on the "ten year offer"
"Actually I didn't even think it was required to make statements on this because I think that the criticisms are to say the least a joke.", the President said during a Television interview. This offer was an informal sounding out during the peace discussion. It was made at a time when 8 months after my government came into power there were no military operations between the LTTE and the Sri Lanka Government. We had reached cessation of hostilities and were discussing.
I had proposed to the LTTE that they begin to discuss with us the draft of the political proposals which are before the country at the moment. It is in that context, they were willing to discuss the political proposals, end the war, end the military conflict, lay down arms. Then in those circumstances obviously for an organisation which had declared war on the Sri Lankan state, which wanted a separate state which, in fact de-facto was in charge of the entire Northern province during many years of UNP government rule, it was only reasonable that we offer them something.
Therefore, we said we were willing to do all these things, that we could consider a five to ten year period. We were supposed to discuss where the LTTE would administer the Northern province of course if they convert to a democratic party lay down arms and accept all other democratic Tamil parties also would be able to work and thereafter they will have to go for an election. That was all suggested. It was not a strange thing.
What I find strange and in fact a big joke is that I should be criticised by the UNP which when they were in power offered much more and gave much more to them. In 1986, President Jayewardene at the Bangalore SAARC conference discussed with Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and agreed to hand over the entire North and East to Mr. Prabhakaran with the Chief Minister's post without any election, if he was willing to end the war. Mr. Premadasa gave arms and money to the LTTE without any conditions which they are still using to kill our people.
I have never been so foolish or so reckless or so irresponsible. My government will never be. We only offered this to an organisation which was not waging war against this government, which was in the process of discussing peace in order to establish and stabilise the peaceful situation if it was possible. But the LTTE refused. They went back to military conflict and since they started war against the government. We waged a war honestly and truly unlike the UNP. The UNP while at war ordered 700 policemen in the Batticaloa police to lay down arms and give their lives in front of the LTTE. They hacked them to death. At that time the UNP government should have resigned 15 times, they should have been impeached 100 times and those Ministers and ex-Ministers like Ronnie de Mel, Ranil Wickremesinghe, Gamini Athukorale were in this government, there was not a peep from them. We are trying to save the country from a war into which the UNP betrayed the country and people and the UNP has absolutely no right to say a word in such a situation.
One should have thought that with all the evidence of the LTTE's perfidy, nobody of sound mind would have dreamt of another such suicidal enterprise as engaging in peace talks with such unrepentant and equally obdurate and committed terrorists as the LTTE. However, following the dictates of such basic common sense was not to be. History, has a habit, nasty at times, of repeating itself.
Every set of 'peace talks' has only served to weaken our forces, strengthen the LTTE, prolong the war, bleed our Country and cause far more carnage, far more suffering, far more misery, far more destruction of property and far more wastage of public funds and consequent impoverishment of the Nation than there would have been if, instead of engaging in ill-advised 'peace talks' we had engaged in a well planned and unremitting military endeavour to rid the Country of the dreadful incubus called the LTTE.
What this Country needs today is not the 'Package' nor the vivisection of our Country in the name of 'devolution'. What the Sinhalese, the Tamils, the Muslims, and all other races who together constitute the Sri Lankan Nation need is a mature political leadership with a commitment to the Country rather than to self: a leadership that realises that while people belong to different races, the problems afflicting them do not - that there are no different types of hunger called 'Sinhalese hunger', 'Tamil hunger' and 'Muslim hunger', and that such problems must be tackled not as 'Sinhalese', 'Tamil' or 'Muslim' problems, but as national problems according to a national plan, and acts accordingly; a leadership that realises that the key to peace and harmony whether ethnic or otherwise lies not in pandering to the hunger of politicians for power,whether in the name of devolution or not, but in fairplay and justice, and acts according to the fundamental principle that all citizens of all races, castes, creeds and political opinions are entitled to equal rights in every part of the Country; and above all,a leadership, that realises that the People are not mere voters to be duped or manipulated by political horse-deals and fine words, but human beings to be served, and proceeds to serve them.