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| Sunday, 20 January 2002 |
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MoU - foundation for peace talks by our political correspondent The preliminary agreement the Government hopes to sign with the LTTE is expected to provide the basic foundation for a full-fledged dialogue between the two sides to enable a negotiated settlement of the ethnic conflict, the 'Sunday Observer' learns. The agreement "will be in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two sides and it will be the precursor to the commencement of the peace talks," Minister of Enterprise Development, Industrial Policy and Investment Promotion and Constitutional Affairs, Professor G. L. Peiris, told the 'Sunday Observer'.The MoU which will incorporate the terms and conditions for an extended ceasefire will set the stage for the peace talks, the Minister said. Three-way discussions are under way between the Government, the Norwegian facilitating team and the LTTE to stabilise the current ceasefire for a year-long period. Minister Peiris said that the longer the ceasefire remained in place, the more conducive the atmosphere would be for the achievement of a comprehensive settlement. "The longer it lasts, the greater the momentum of the peace process," he said. Following positive signals given in last week's Vanni media briefing by LTTE political chief, S. P. Thamilchelvam, government officials are confident of an extended ceasefire. While the MoU will set the process on course for detailed talks, the issues of the de-proscription of the LTTE and the venue or venues for negotiations for a political settlement can be taken up along the way, they said. While the ceasefire consolidates, officials stressed that security considerations will not be pushed into the background. "We are keeping a firm balance between the confidence-building measures now being implemented and the security precautions needed to ensure that public security and our state of military alert remains high," they said. For example even if some of the security barriers in the greater Colombo region have been removed, a system of mobile stop-and-search procedures is in operation. Minister Peiris expressed satisfaction with the implementation of the confidence building measures. He pointed out that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe himself had ensured that the implementation would be efficient from the inception by asking several government ministers to be in position at different points in the Vanni and the North last week to see that things go smoothly. Minister of Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Refugees, Dr. Jayalth Jayawardena, Minister of Economic Reforms, Science and Technology, Milinda Moragoda and Minister of Irrigation and Water Management, Gamini Jayawickrema Perera and Minister of Interior, John Amaratunga were at the frontlines in the North to personally oversee the lifting of the economic embargo and the relaxing of some of the security procedures to enable free movement of civilians. Meanwhile, Minister Peiris is upbeat about economic prospects in the light of the improved stability in the country after the cessation of hostilities and the momentum towards peace talks. The positive tourism advisory by the Japanese Government was an important signal to the international community of confidence in the Sri Lankan situation, he said. Japan being Sri Lanka's aid donor, had made a signal that would pave the way for greater investor confidence as well for a more amenable outlook by Sri Lanka's Aid Club, which is due to be convened shortly in Paris to map out future aid programmes and IMF/World Bank support for the economy. The government is currently busy with negotiations in Washington and Brussels for improved terms for Sri Lankan apparel export to the huge United States and European community markets. Better tariffs for our apparel exports is the objective. Minister Peiris hopes that Sri Lanka's relatively better industrial relations situation and labour conditions will give it a competitive edge in these markets where labour conditions in exporting countries are tied to market accessibility. He was also pleased with the move by the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FCCI-SL) to visit Jaffna and the plans by the Jaffna Business Chamber to reciprocate with a visit to Colombo. The north's potentially vibrant economy had been isolated from the rest of national economy for too long, he said. The integration of the North's economy with the rest of the country would go a long way to restore ties between North and South and to regain a common national identity, he pointed out. Professor Peiris said that the government had a comprehensive overview of the negotiating process and was implementing things in stages. The substantive negotiations will be conducted while the government maintains a parallel interaction with all interest groups in society. "We will be in constant touch with civil society groups, think-tanks, the clergy, the business sector and other interest groups," he said. |
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