The UPFA yesterday revealed that the then President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s government, in concurrence with India, planned to abandon the Jaffna peninsula shortly after the fall of the strategic Elephant Pass base. Had that happened, the LTTE would have achieved Eelam a long time ago.

Minister Dallas Alahapperuma told the media, at the Mahaweli Centre, that in this regard initial talks between Sri Lanka and India had been held to work out a plan to evacuate about 50,000 government security forces and police personnel.

Although the plan did not materialize, the then government went to the extent of issuing an evacuation order, the minister said. He emphasized that had the political leadership not reversed its decision subsequently, the military could not have done anything else except leave the Jaffna peninsula in ships made available by the LTTE. The bottom line is that the military could not have overruled a decision taken by the political leadership.

Responding to Opposition candidate retired General Sarath Fonseka’s criticism of his predecessor and the military in general for failing to defeat the LTTE, the SLFP treasurer said that political leaders cannot be absolved of their short-sighted policies.

He said that the Opposition strategy could well have been Prabhakaran’s last wish before the army killed him on the banks of the Nanthikadal lagoon in May.

Minister Champika Ranawaka said that the Opposition alliance was nothing but a six-month plan worked out by political opportunists bent on forcing President Rajapaksa out of power.

The Opposition was clueless regarding its future political plans though it had pledged to abolish the executive presidency and an executive premiership as proposed by the UNP to replace the executive presidency would not be an answer, he said. The Jewish State, too, had tried a similar system for about six years to overcome political uncertainty. The UNP wanted Wickremesinghe named as the executive Premier though the JVP had publicly opposed the move. A smiling Ranawaka said that the Opposition campaign was simple: to bring Ranil back to power, vote for Sarath Fonseka.

The retired Army Chief’s assertion that they were ready to review the 13th Amendment to the Constitution and even go beyond that would definitely cause a serious rift among the newly found alliance. Although this could be acceptable to the UNP and some of his allies, the Marxist JVP could not take a similar stand, he said. Similarly, a statement attributed to Fonseka that the UNP could handle the economy better than the UPFA, too, would cause anxiety among the JVPers.

The bottom line is that the UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe could not even comprehend the rapid development taking place in the country, the JHU frontliner said. Detailing major projects undertaken by the Rajapaksa administration, he said those who unashamedly sold State assets and resources were today shedding crocodile tears over what so-called experts called a struggling economy. He said that the country should be proud of its achievements not only in the NE battlefields but in the economic field as well.

He warned that reactionary forces could cause chaos by targeting leaders of both major parties. Referring to assassination attempt on the then SLFP presidential election candidate Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike way back in 1988 and the assassinations of Lalith Athulathmudali and President Ranasinghe Premadasa in quick succession, he said that they should be prepared to face any eventuality.