Peace has eluded Sri Lanka for over two decades. The past year and a half have been exceptions with the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE agreeing on a cease-fire and talking peace. It has also been a peculiar period for governance of the island nation, with the President and the prime minister hailing from different parties. This has led to a lot of tension between President Chandrika Kumaratunge and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Ever since the UNP won a slender majority in Parliament in the December 2001 elections, differences have cropped up not only over the peace process but also over the running of the Government. Last week, Kumaratunge, who is on a state visit to Delhi, spoke candidly to Managing Editor Raj Chengappa on her concerns about the lack of direction in the peace process and how her relations with Wickremesinghe have deteriorated. It is unusual for a head of state to speak out against her own prime minister on foreign soil but it reflects just how serious the differences are. Excerpts from the interview:

"It looks almost like peace at any cost. We may end up with two countries."

Q. What are the positive aspects of the peace process with the LTTE?
A. The positive things are that there is a ceasefire, the guns have been silent. This is the sixth peace process that the Government has attempted. It has perhaps lasted the longest. Also, it is the longest time that the LTTE has stayed at the negotiating table. The world is more interested. But of course that is not very special for the peace process.

What also concerns me is that after nearly one-and-a-half years of ceasefire and six rounds of peace talks, nothing that really matters for a durable peace process began. What is important for the peace process is demilitarization. The essence of the ceasefire is a temporary thing. It is a ceasing of fire temporarily. In order that it happens in a permanent fashion one has to talk about how you demilitarize the process, how those who have taken up arms and ammunition will lay them down. And how the government will progressively withdraw the armies and ensure civilian rule.

Q. Isn't that part of the plan?
A. No. All this has not yet begun to be talked about. They did talk once or twice but then the LTTE effectively scuttled it. They asked the army to withdraw partially from the north and east without the LTTE laying down one arm. Second thing is that in a peace process one would expect the two sides to talk about a permanent solution, a political settlement. For that we have discussed what complaints the other people have and what complaints the minorities living in the east make. We want extensive devolution of powers but we have not even begun to be talk about it.

Q. What is your main concern?
A. What is worrying is that the government does not seem to know what it wants from the LTTE. Nobody in the country knows. Not even the cabinet minister. Neither does parliament. When we were negotiating our peace process that was clearly exposed.

Q. What is your assessment of the Government's apporach?
A. It looks like peace at any cost. My point is I would like true and durable peace for my country. Honestly. What worries me is that they are taking the wrong path to get to the right place. And that it may not get them there at all. Not only not get there but also put the country in a total mess. We may end up with two countries.

Q. Do you think Prabhakaran has changed his stripes?
A. As a political scientist, more than a politician I tend to study and analyse as deeply possible political people I have to work with. Prabhakaran is now conscripting little children. The UNHCR, Amnesty International and other Tamil NGOs confirm this. Recently a Tamil mother set herself on fire in front of an LTTE office in Batticalao district because a child had been drugged and not returned.

"At nine cabinet meetings organised by Wickremesinghe I was abused by ministers. They thought I would run away but I didn't"

Q. Isn't the government negotiating from a position of weakness because the military option was exhausted?
A. No, they are not in a position of weakness. Because they had handed over the north to the LTTE when we took over the government We proved that the Sri Lankan army can fight the war effectively. We took the entire northern province back from the LTTE and that is why Prabhakaran wants to kill me.

Q. But you exercised the military option?
A. We never wanted the military option. When I took over from Ranil Wicrkemesinghe as prime minister, they were saying war-war and nothing other than war. We came in saying war is not the solution and that there could be a negotiated settlement. Unlike this government which does not have an any efficient plan for peace, we put an entire proposal in the form of a draft before the country. When we went for the talks we had very clear proposals. I kept asking the LTTE about it during the eight months of talks. That is when Prabhakaran walked in and I insisted on sitting down and talking about what we were offering as devolution to the Tamil people and other minorities. The LTTE broke the ceasefire and attacked our armies. Now a sovereign government cannot just take it lying down. So we began to respond. Right through the process I kept on sending messages to the LTTE, to Prabhakaran himself, saying lets talk because of our commitment to a negotiated settlement.

Q. There is a pecualar situation in Sri Lanka with the President and prime minister belonging to different parties. How has the process of cohabiting with the prime minister worked? How are your relations with him?
A. Horrendous.

Q. In what ways?
A. As soon as they came into power, they killed 60 people of my party. They broke their arms and limbs and damaged properties of another 3,000 people.

Q. After your presidency?
A. Yes, yes. The police has been forbidden to investigate, no monetory compensation has been given though I started that practice of giving compensation for those who have been killed before 1994. They arrested 96 presidential security guards on trumped up charges. Two of them were blindfolded, assaulted physically, taken to a secret place and asked to make false statements against me. They didn't and today they are before the Supreme Court in fundamental rights cases. They thought I will run away. But I did not. And this is the all-powerful President of Sri Lanka for you.

Q. Why have you permitted this?
A. Only because I believed in democracy and they had managed to scrape through an election after buying out 13 people from our side. As the so-called all-powerful president I was able to take on all this at the end of seven months. Then they thought they will attack me personally and at nine cabinet meetings I was abused by four ministers. They thought I will run away but I did not. They then they tried to bring in parliament an amendment to the constitution, their own constitution which they brought in 25 years ago giving the president immense powers. They tried to cut down the presidential powers. But that was clearly illegal and unconstitutional, so the Supreme Court shot it down.

Q. What action have you taken against them?
A. I have bent backwards to give them powers that were exclusively mine. I try advising them but they hardly ever listen to me.

Q. Does the prime minister consult you?
A. No. Never. He just briefs me. The constitution is such that he has to take my permission for every step he takes. And if he does'nt I can sack him and his whole Government. But I don't act like that. My style of politics is very different.

Q. But why don't you sack him?
A. There will be a possible crisis in the country because at present by foul means or whatever they still thave a majority in Parliament. One has to take the political situation under consideration before taking such decisions.

Q. How can it pull along when the head of state and prime minister do not communicate with each other.?
A. When we meet we talk very nicely. We have good actors in our country.

Q. You don't think you need to take any action?
A. The political situation will decide all that.

Q. Will this peace process end?
A. No. I have made it clear that whatever government is in power, if I have any say, the peace process will continue. Maybe differently
and more efficiently.