Mr. James D. Wolfanson

President,

World Bank

Dear Mr. President,

Sri Lanka has been maintaining cordial and friendly economic and diplomatic relationship with the World Bank for a long time. During this long history none of the permanent representatives has ever issued an official statement on internal affairs adversely affecting the sovereignty of Sri Lanka.

However Mr. Peter Harold, the present country director of the World Bank of which you are the president, has recently issued a number of press statements that directly damages and harmful to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka. He has made such statements exceeding the authority that has been conferred upon him in dealing with the Government of Sri Lanka.

We would like to draw your attention to the statement published on the front page of the “Sunday Times”;( a widely circulated national newspaper dated 6th March) entitled “WB giving Rs. 6 b for Tiger Areas; Country director insists LTTE a key stakeholder” and the subsequent clarification of Mr. Peter Harold consequent upon the public outcry that arose from every quarters of the country.

The subsequent statement issued by Mr. Peter Harold to clarify his controversial press statement refers to the activities and programs that the World Bank has launched in the Northern and Eastern part of Sri Lanka.

We would like to draw your attention to the under mentioned parts of his  controversial  statements.

“Given the facts that there is an officially recognized LTTE –controlled area, a kind of unofficial state; and since it is a party to the ceasefire agreement with the Government, the LTTE has the status of a legitimate stakeholder”

“….. if we are going to work in North and East, then it is only right and proper to talk to the LTTE and engaging with it can only be good for the peace process in Sri Lanka”

Subsequent to the publication in the “Sunday Times” of the above extremely damaging statement which challenges the sovereignty of Sri Lanka, Hon. Kadirgamar, the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Sri Lanka, expressed his views that were published in the “Island” (a widely circulated national newspaper dated 7thMarch 2005). He says “The World Bank Country Director Mr. Peter Harold has made a provocative statement which goes beyond the limits of prudent comments that should be observed by an official”.

In addition, one of the key ministers in the present People’s Alliance Government and also the brother of Her Excellency the President, Hon  Anura  Bandaranayake, the Minister of Tourism, Investment Promotion and Industry has also condemned Mr. Peter Harold’s statement as stupid and extremely provocative. Hon Minister further states in his press release that appeared on “Dinamina” (widely circulated national news paper    dated 8th March 2005) that Mr. Peter Harold has unfortunately made that statement just a day before the LTTE had killed innocent and unarmed civilians including children and women at Wellikanda.   

The key partners of the present Peoples’ Alliance Government; Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna” – JVP (Peoples’ Liberation Front) and Mahajana Eksath Peramuna”-MEP (Peoples’ United Front) have issued press statements strongly criticizing Mr. Peter Harold’s statement. Those press statements and reports are attached to this document for your perusal and reference.

Mr. Peter Harold has without any ambiguity exceeded his authority in making that controversial statement. There is no doubt, that the statement in its very nature undermines and challenges the sovereignty of Sri Lanka. It is also tantamount to attributing official statehood to the LTTE which has been proscribed by many countries including United States of America, Australia and United Kingdom as one of the most deadliest terrorist organizations in the world.

Mr. Peter Harold in his clarification letter denies the fact that he ever used the words “a kind of unofficial state” in his statement. It is not certain yet whether this is true or not and it will be made known only at the next issue of “Sunday Times” which is due on Sunday the 12thMarch. Even if it is assumed that Mr. Peter Harold has never used such words, the seriousness and the dire consequences of his statement cannot be underestimated.

In this context we would like to draw your attention to the under mentioned segments of his statement.

“ Given the fact that there is an officially recognized LTTE controlled area,… It is a party to the ceasefire agreement with the government; the LTTE has the status of legitimate stakeholder”

“ ….. And if we are going to work in the North and East,then it is only right and proper to talk to the LTTE and engaging with it can only be good for the peace process”.

Mr. Peter Harold’s above press statement issued on the 7th March clarifying the disputed statement further confirms that he relies on the assumption that there are officially established LTTE –controlled areas in Sri Lanka. Can an international organization like the World Bank draw such inferences? And more particularly has Mr. Peter Harold been conferred with any legal or moral mandate as the country director of the World Bank to declare such an opinion?  Since this statement strongly challenges the sovereignty of Sri Lanka and was made by the permanent representative of a world organization, it cannot be simply ignored, disregarded or   shrugged off.

On the other hand as there are  plenty of parliamentarians elected by the people living in the Northern and Eastern parts of Sri Lanka, on what grounds that Mr. Peter Harold claims that the LTTE is the only party to deal with or confers “legitimate stakeholder status” to the LTTE which is a terrorist outfit that kills unarmed civilians and extort their properties on routine basis.

When Mr. Peter Harold says that LTTE is the only party to deal with in organizing and distributing aid to those areas, doesn’t it undermine the mandate given to those elected representatives of the people and thereby confer international legitimacy to a terrorist outfit which in turn suppress the peoples’ will to that of a terrorist force. Doesn’t it mean that Mr. Peter Harold gives recognition to the fascist claim of the LTTE that it is the sole representative of the Tamil People? Is this the official stance of the World Bank? If not, is it only a personal view of Mr. Peter Harold’? If it is his personal view, is he legally capable of or mandated under his terms of reference to express this opinion in his capacity as the country director of the World Bank?

It is appropriate at this juncture to analyze Mr. Peter Harold’s statement that “there is a kind of unofficial state of LTTE within Sri Lanka”.  It should be reiterated here that this is a very serious statement which threatens and undermines the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our motherland. This is not only factually totally erroneous but also baseless and should not have been made by a prudent official in the capacity of Mr. Peter Harold.

What are the facts and sources that any prudent person should refer to and consult with in case that there is a need to express such an opinion? The most appropriate legal source to be referred and perused is the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka. It is the supreme law of the country by which the legality of any other special laws or agreements is derived. The Constitution of Sri Lanka does not contain any Articles that confirm the fact that there is an area called “LTTE controlled areas” within the official boundaries of the Sri Lankan state.  If there are any such provisions in the Constitution, we too may have to accept the fact as Mr. Peter Harold claims that there are  “LTTE –controlled areas" within Sri Lanka.

In the same vein, if there is at least any other legal document approved by the Parliament which is the Supreme Law Making Body of the country, demarcating such areas as LTTE controlled areas , we probably may not take Mr. Peter Harold  so seriously. However there is not a single document passed or approved by the legislature to that effect up to date.          

It is therfore apparent that Mr. Peter Harold has relied upon without any prudence in making this damaging statement on the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)  that was signed by the then prime minister Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe and the leadership of the LTTE on 22nd February 2002. It is true that there is a reference to the LTTE-controlled areas in the so-called MOU. It is also a fact that this MOU is now sub judice consequent upon a series of petitions that have been filed by the interested citizens challenging the MOU and those petitions are being now heard by the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka.

On the other hand Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe who is a principal signatory to the MOU has openly stated that the said  MOU is tainted with a number of substantial shortcomings. Her Excellency the President who is vested with the constitutional authority to sign such agreements has also expressed that she was neither consulted nor was made known  the contents of the MOU prior to Mr. Wickremesinghe signed it.          

The present government came into power on  April 4th   2004 as a result of the public outcry over this controversial MOU. It is not a document that was approved by and agreed upon by the peoples’ representatives in the Parliament. Nor it is a document that was approved by the then cabinet of ministers or the members of the legislature. It is appropriate at this juncture to mention a general legal principle that is very often resorted to in construing legal documents of this nature. This principle is based on the maxim “Generalia specialibus non derogant” which means that general laws cannot be superceded by the special laws. General Law in this instance being the constitution on of Sri Lanka, its legal force and efficacy cannot be superceded by the so-called MOU. In this context it is not prudent and desirable to a person of Mr. Peter Harold’s caliber to draw inferences on the basis of words and phrases of such a dubious document. Therefore Mr. Peter Harold’s action is not only ultra vires but also unacceptable and deplorable. He has challenged the sovereignty of our motherland and as a result the damage caused is irreparable.

In these circumstances, Mr. Peter Harold’s statement raises doubts as to the role of the country director of the World Bank in Sri Lanka. Not only Mr. Peter Harold has put the World Bank into disrepute but also has directly promoted the terrorism in Sri Lanka.  It has also proved beyond any reasonable doubts that Mr. Peter Harold intentionally attempts to confer official statehood to a terrorist outfit which has been banned all over the world.

In this context we strongly believe and are of the firm conviction that unless Mr. Peter Harold withdraws his statement in toto he should be recalled and appropriate replacement be made to act as the country director of the World Bank in Sri Lanka.

Further we strongly believe that a person who challenges the sovereignty of Sri Lanka has no moral or legal right to act any longer as the permanent representative of the World Bank in Sri Lanka.     

We would appreciate if you could pay due attention to the facts stated herein and take all the possible steps to replace Mr. Peter Harold unless he withdraws the disputed press statement in full.

Thanking You,