COLOMBO, January 28: Anurudha Ratwatte, Sri Lanka's deputy defence minister, has resigned following Sunday's LTTE bomb attack at the country's holiest Buddhist shrine, the Dalada Maligawa in Kandy.In a letter to President Chandrika Kumaratunga, Ratwatte, the de facto defence minister - in Sri Lanka the portfolio is synonymous with internal security - said in stepping down, he was acting in accordance with his conscience. ``This government and myself as the person most responsible for defence have clearly accepted the responsibility in the defence of the nation and the security of the people,'' he wrote. Under these circumstances and as a ``responsible'' minister of the government, Ratwatte wrote, he was resigning ``with immediate effect''. It was not clear immediately whether President Kumaratunga, who is also the defence minister, had accepted the resignation. Ratwatte has however not resigned as minister for power and irrigation, the other portfolio that he holds. Since Sunday's attack, various sectionsof the majority Sinahala-Buddhist community have accused the government of failing to provide adequate protection to the Dalada Maligawa or the Temple of the Tooth, which houses a tooth of the Buddha and was damaged in the LTTE attack. The opposition United National Party mounted a campaign demanding his resignation for the massive lapse of security that led to the bomb attack at the temple, killing 16 people and injuring nearly 20 others, while senior members of the influential Buddhist clergy scathingly denounced the government for its failure to protect the dhamma or faith.
Visiting the temple hours after the blast, Ratwatte, who had earlier described the security for the 50th anniversary celebrations in Kandy as the biggest ever in Sri Lanka, himself admitted that there had been a drastic breach in the arrangements.
The decision to shift the venue of the celebration from Kandy to the capital was like a further confession of failure by the government to curb terrorist attacks by the LTTE. Ratwatte'sresignation may have the effect of assuaging the feelings of the Buddhist community in Sri Lanka which has been deeply offended by the attack, thereby curtailing the political fall-out this could have for Kumaratunga's government.
However, it would also afford great satisfaction to the Tamil Tigers. The flamboyant Ratwatte was credited by his supporters within the government for the military victories in northern Sri Lanka that have over the last two years steadily shrunk territory held by the LTTE. However, some of the Army top brass were reportedly unhappy with the way the war against the LTTE was being fought to political deadlines.
Recently, the minister told foreign journalists based in the Sri Lankan capital that the army would secure a land route through territory held by the Tamil Tigers to reunite Jaffna peninsula with the rest of the country ``at any cost'' before the country's 50th anniversary celebrations.
``We are prepared to reopen a main supply route at any cost. This country has beendivided far too long and we must reunify it, and we want to achieve this before the country celebrates its 50th anniversary. We want the north and south to get together,'' he asserted.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
