17 වැනි සංශෝධනය ඔළුවෙන් සිටුවීම
The idea of a Constitutional Council, advanced by professional bodies and backed by pro-democracy and media groups, was meant to take appointments to key posts out of the head of state’s arbitrary hands. The editorial argues that the version of the 17th Amendment drafted with JVP mediation reverses this, leaving the President to nominate and the Council merely to approve, a distortion it attributes to the President, the Chief Justice and Jayampathy Wickramaratne, with the UNP assisting through carelessness.
ජනතා විමුක්ති පෙරමුණේ භූමිකාව
The editorial says the JVP aims to ally with favoured SLFP figures, derail the peace process with the President’s help and use the resulting disorder to form a government it can steer, much as Sirimavo Bandaranaike and N.M. Perera did in 1964, with Mangala Samaraweera as go-between. It argues the JVP offers the SLFP little beyond votes, and warns that the power struggle may push Prabhakaran to prepare for war or to claim that only a separate state is left.
නරක සංඥාවක්
A young monk who led the Motherland Protection Movement was reportedly abducted, beaten and dumped in a village near Hungama. The editorial says only the government or those it protects could do this, and insists that however mistaken the movement’s views, it must be free to protest within a democratic framework and be answered by argument. Those responsible must face the law.
සාපරාධී අපහාස නීතිය හා විමල් වීරවංශ
Parliament repealed criminal defamation unanimously, though some PA and JVP members clearly opposed it. Replying to Wimal Weerawansa’s attack on Ravaya during the debate, the editorial says Ravaya lost faith in Chandrika Kumaratunga long ago, alleges that Mangala Samaraweera arranged a Press Council ruling for the JVP through its chairman Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, and challenges Weerawansa to answer questions on killings and assaults, the Malimbada shooting and corruption allegations against the President.
තහනම සාකච්ඡාවලට බාධාවක් කරගත යුතු ද?
Campaigners demanding that the LTTE ban stay in place would, the editorial argues, wreck the proposed talks and push the country back to war it cannot afford. The Tigers fought before and after the ban, which was imposed to placate the public after the attack on the Temple of the Tooth. The JVP too was once banned, and a ban lifted can easily be reimposed if the LTTE breaks its commitments.
අධිකරණය ගඳ ගැස්සවීම
A short note on Anura Bandaranaike’s meeting in London, with Nimal Siripala de Silva, with JVP leader Somawansa Amarasinghe to bring the JVP into the People’s Alliance. Ivan calls the two alike in everything but oratory, says Anura’s aim is to overtake Mahinda Rajapaksa as the PA’s next presidential candidate by replacing the pro-peace LSSP and Communist Party with the JVP, and ironically wishes him success.
මැතිවරණ ප්‍රතිඵල වලින් පෙන්නුම් කෙරෙන දේශපාලන උපනති
Ivan analyses the local election results in the Colombo municipal area, Kesbewa, Ratnapura and Galle against the 2000 and 2001 parliamentary polls. The UNP held or gained ground while the PA’s vote collapsed by a third to over half and the JVP also fell sharply. He concludes that voters rejected the PA and JVP’s nationalist claim that the peace effort meant dividing the country, backing peace despite the soaring cost of living.
ජනාධිපතිනියගේ ඡීඑස්ඩී දාමරිකකම් ගැන ශ්‍රීලනිප, පොපෙ හා ජවිපෙ කියන්නේ කුමක්ද?
When inquiries into the Presidential Security Division began, SLFP loyalists called them a plot to weaken the President’s security. The editorial notes that investigations now link the PSD to the attacks on the Leader editor, the Rohana Kumara murder and other outrages, with officers saying they acted on the President’s orders, and demands that the SLFP, PA and JVP state their position. If she ordered the crimes she must face the law, by constitutional amendment if necessary.
ප්‍රභාකරන් එන්න යන්නේ මොකාටද?
Ivan rejects the JVP-led reading that Prabhakaran’s press conference shows he still wants Eelam, arguing he had to address the international community, the government and his own followers at once. Facing hostile journalists was itself an achievement, and his regretful tone about past violence contrasted with the JVP’s justifications. Drawing on the JVP’s own history, the ANC and the IRA, he predicts the LTTE’s barracks culture will fade only slowly and that Prabhakaran’s real test will be governing.
අපේක්ෂා කළ හැක්කේ ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදය සහිත සාමයක් නොව,සාමයක් පමණය
Ivan compares the LTTE’s entry into mainstream politics with the JVP’s. The JVP returned quietly, under another name, after military defeat; the Tigers are coming openly as an undefeated force. He expects their rule in any interim North-East administration to be authoritarian and barracks-like, argues that peace itself is the prize for the Sinhala people, that winning democratic freedom is for Tamils themselves, and that the government must guarantee the rights of Muslims and Sinhalese in the region.