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| Sunday, 18 August 2002 |
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PSG hails peace talks in Thailand Peace Support group a Non-Governmental Organisation monitoring the peace process, has welcomed the commencement of formal talks between the UNF Government and the LTTE in Thailand next month. A statement issued by the Peace Support Group in that connection is as follows: "The Peace Support Group (PSG) hails the decision taken by the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to commence formal negotiations in Thailand next month, as part of the ongoing process of resolving the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. "We also wish to congratulate Norway without whose assistance, persistence and facilitation this historical break-through could not have been achieved. "It must be noted that the Ceasefire Agreement that was signed on 22 February 2002 by the Government and the LTTE with Norwegian facilitation has brought the country six months of respite from war and clearly has the support of the vast majority of people as numerous public opinion polls have shown. The completion of 160 days of the Ceasefire Agreement had also laid much of the ground for direct peace talks in Thailand. "Apart from enabling the discussion of the framework of an interim administration and core issues surrounding it, we believe that the formal peace talks in Thailand offer the best prospects for a comprehensive negotiated settlement to the ethnic conflict and a just peace. The Thailand talks will also provide the opportunity to introduce strong human rights guarantees and effective monitoring mechanisms - both of which should form the bedrock of any interim arrangements. It must be recognized that the proposed interim administration is only a first step to a permanent solution to the conflict. It should provide short-term stability that would facilitate re-settlement of IDPs, rehabilitation and reconstruction of the conflict affected areas, stabilize economic structures and links, monitor the human rights situation, help promote reconciliation and the emergence of democratic political structures". |
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