When Saturn moved to the house of Aries after 30 years at 1.27 pm on 17 April 1998, some politicians from both the ruling and opposition parties in Sri Lanka went off abroad hoping to escape the malefic influences. Some newspapers regarded as ´hostile´ by the ruling People´s Alliance had a field day reporting astrologers who said that the next few months were going to be particularly bad for those born under Aquarius. Those newspapers took pleasure presenting a doomsday scenario and naming the ministers who had flown off.
President Chandrika Kumaratunga made haste to tell her party MPs that the April planetary changes were actually good for her personally as well as for the government. When a newspaper claimed that she was in Europe as the celestial changes were occurring, the state-owned television channel moved swiftly to reassure the public that she was very much in Colombo and attending to her duties. The same telecast presented a favourable forecast for the country following the planetary changes featuring an astrologer who used the opportunity for some free advertising: "Ordinary readings Rs. 50," said the sign in front of him. "Special reading Rs. 250."
While the mainline politicians of the People´s Alliance and the opposition United National Party were thus indulging in "planetary politics" and sizing up each other´s chances at the August provincial council elections, a third force that twice attempted to overthrow Sri Lanka´s elected governments by armed insurrection was organising to mount a bid for power at the next general election due at the turn of the century.
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP, People´s Liberation Front) was getting ready to stage a big May Day show in Colombo. The party has protested obstacles put forth by the police for the demonstration and believes that the government is planning a crackdown on them. The JVP vehemently opposes the devolution package with which the People´s Alliance hopes to end the civil war that has bled Sri Lanka white during the last 15 years.