Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse is like a baby taking the first steps — struggling, trying, unsure what to do. In many ways he is a man in a hurry but confronted with problems at every corner — much of it due to inexperience and immaturity.

For example, a newspaper reports that at a discussion chaired by him with representatives of other parties and government ministers to discuss ways of ending the stalemate in the peace process, he finds Investment Promotion Minister Rohitha Bogollagama also in the room, although he was not invited. When JVP parliamentarian Wimal Weerawansa asked Rajapakse about Bogollagama’s presence, the president is reported to have said, “I too don’t know how he came in.” Now instead of showing the man the door, he was allowed to remain, a clear case of indecision.

Then Rajapakse’s order to Tourism Minister Anura Bandaranaike to replace Tourist Board Chairman Udaya Nanayakkara with his nominee was not heeded. Nanayakkara remained and when Rajapakse was asked why his order was not carried out, he reportedly said, “I don’t want to take action against Anura over a small issue like this,” — another case of indecision.

Rajapakse last week did it again — calling a newspaper editor, who is opposed to him, and asking him not to attack his wife and sons. Sunday Leader editor, Lasantha Wickrematunga raised a hornet’s nest over the issue saying the president had abused him in raw filth and threatened him during that telephone conversation over an article that had not been published. Media movements issued statements protesting the alleged threat.

To spite the president, the Sunday Leader editor ran the story this Sunday relating how the First Lady Shiranthi stepped into a Hindu temple which bars non-Hindus other than Buddhists to enter. Rajapakse is a Buddhist but his wife is Catholic.

On the latest upsurge of violence by Tamil rebels too, the president seems to be indecisive. As the number of killings over the past month rose to 100, even some of his ministers are persuading him to give in to the rebel demand to hold peace talks in Oslo — instead of Rajapakse’s stance that talks must be held in an Asian country.

Rajapakse is under pressure from his coalition allies to get rid of Norwegian peacekeepers who have been accused of being partisan to the Tigers. Again indecision is standing in the way — while criticising the Norwegians, he is welcoming Erik Solheim, a new Norwegian minister and formerly chief peace facilitator, later this month.

The Tigers are certainly throwing caution to the winds and hell bent on putting pressure on the government to cave in to its terms of re-starting peace talks in Oslo. That tactic is also possibly connected to stalling any move by Rajapakse to get rid of the Norwegian peacemakers. They are also creating a fear psychosis with newspapers running ‘scary’ stories of possible suicide attacks. The strategy is working because the government is agitated, is disorganised; people are in a quandary while the business community is also perturbed and worried that a large-scale war will break out.

Samath, a freelancer, wr-ites for THT from Colombo