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Peace talks between Sri Lanka and LTTE in Thailand
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By
Danish A Khan, Special to IslamOnline
NEW DELHI
, September 17 (IslamOnline) -
Sri Lankan government representatives and top Liberation Tiger for Tamil
Eelam (LTTE) functionaries started face-to-face negotiations Monday,
September 16, at Sattahip, a military naval base in
Thailand
. The direct talks brokered by
Norway
got underway for the first
time in seven years.
Thailand
has been considered the
closest neutral venue for the talks. The naval base is strategically
located in the
Gulf
of
Thailand
and is 160 km south-east of
Bangkok
. The base was earlier used by
the
United States
during Vietnam war.
The
talks are aimed at reaching a peaceful negotiated settlement and ending
two decades of bloody ethnic conflict in the island-nation. LTTE
ideologue and chief negotiator Anton Balasingham and
Sri Lanka
’s Constitutional Affairs
Minister GL Peiris led their respective teams comprising four members
each to the negotiating table with Norwegian special peace envoy Eric
Solheim in attendance.
The
talks have been scheduled for a total of twelve hours to be held over
three days.
Besides
Peiris, the Sri Lankan government delegation includes Economic Reforms
and Science and Technology Minister Milinda Moragoda, Muslim Religious
Affairs and Eastern Development Minister Rauf Hakeem and Director
General of the Peace Secretariat Bernard Gunatilake.
“We
hope this will be an historical event,” Solheim told the gathering
while expressing happiness upon bringing the two warring sides to the
negotiating table. Acknowledging the fact that it would be a very
difficult challenge to resolve
Sri Lanka
’s long-running problems,
Solheim said, “This is the first of many rounds of talks.”
The
opening ceremony took off on a positive note with the two sides
displaying exuberance and confidence in steering the talks successfully
and ultimately towards the resolution of the ethnic conflict.
Balasingham
said that the situation in the country had shown a considerable change
ever since Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe came to power in December
last year. “We are sincerely and seriously committed to peace. We are
confident the talks will succeed because the principal parties in the
conflict and the vast majority of the people want a resolution of the
conflict.”
He
continued, “A firm foundation had been laid for peace negotiations by
the principal parties in the conflict.” Political stability and ethnic
harmony were the foundations upon which the economic development of the
island could be built, he stressed.
He
pointed out that the truce brokered by
Norway
was holding good since it
came into effect in February this year. “No serious violations have
been reported from either side and normalcy is fast returning to the
war-shattered northern and eastern provinces of the country,” he said.
“Immediate
steps should be undertaken for the construction and rehabilitation and
resettlement of the displaced people. These tasks cannot be undertaken
without the support of the international community that has favored a
resolution of the Tamil question,” Balasingham urged the gathering.
The
government side was also enthused by the development. Peiris expressed
confidence that “some progress would be made.” At the same time he
made it clear that there should be “no expectation that some kind of
decision should be reached in the first round of talks itself.”
At
the outset, Peiris paid compliments to LTTE supremo Velupillai
Pirabhakaran’s sagacity and foresight in converting his renegade
outfit into a political organization. “Together we repudiate today a
legacy of rancor and hatred which has torn asunder the fabric of our
nation for decades,” Peiris said.
However,
the Sri Lankan government has ruled out a separate Tamil state as
demanded by the LTTE. Peiris declared that his government is willing to
grant “ample degree of devolution” but a separate Tamil state as per
LTTE’s demand is simply out of question.
Setting
the agenda for future negotiations as well as the development and
reconstruction of the war-shattered provinces are likely to be the main
areas of focus during the three-day talks, government sources said.
The
government lifted the ban on LTTE on September 6, one of the
preconditions set by the Tigers for paving the way for smooth
negotiations. Although the government wants that other nations should
not lift the ban on the LTTE so that it did not get a chance again to
raise funds to revive its militancy.
The
terrorist organization is banned in
India
where its supreme leader
Vellupillai Pirabhakaran is wanted for the assassination of former prime
minister Rajiv Gandhi.
India
has refused to lift the ban
on LTTE.
The
organization is also banned in countries like the
United States
, the
United Kingdom
,
Australia
and
Canada
. The
U.S.
too has refused to lift the
ban.
Sri Lanka
declared LTTE a renegade
outfit and slapped a ban in January 1998 after it slammed a lorry laden
with explosives into the holiest of the Buddhist shrine,
Temple
of the Tooth, bringing
massive destruction.
LTTE
had been fighting a war with the government for over two decades
alleging discrimination against 3.2 million Hindu Tamils at the hands of
14 million Buddhist Sinhalese. LTTE advocates a separate, sovereign
Tamil-dominated homeland.
However,
as Wickremesinghe’s government tries to effect peace understandings
with LTTE renegades, peace on the domestic front remains elusive as
ever. Complicating things, President Chandrika Bandranaike Kumaratunga
has opposed Wickremesinghe’s peace moves and has made it known that
she does not support lifting the ban on the LTTE.
The
president and prime minister belong to opposing political parties. While
Kumaratunga represents the People’s Alliance (PA), Wickeremesinghe
heads United National Front (UNF) government. Kumaratunga was elected in
December 1999 and can remain in office till 2005, while Wickremesinghe
became Prime Minister in December 2001 to hold office till 2006.
The
president and prime minister have since been at loggerheads.
Constitutionally the president holds sweeping powers and has on
occasions threatened to dissolve the parliament and call fresh
elections. Wickremesinghe’s government has all the while been
exploring possibilities to clip some of the president’s executive
powers.
A
tacit understanding has been reached between the two sides since none
wants early polls.
