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| Sunday, 30 May 2004 |
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Peace talks : only the agenda to be finalised by Ranga Jayasuriya The Government wants talks to be held on the core issues, parallel to the negotiations on the LTTE proposals for an Interim Administration. But the Tigers insist on the ISGA proposals to be discussed and an Interim Administration set up before the core issues are taken up. This is the fundamental disagreement between the two parties over finalising the agenda for talks as it turned out during the last couple of weeks.
When Norwegian special envoy Erik Solheim met LTTE political chief Thamilchelvan in Kilinochchi on Wednesday, the former reiterated what Anton Balasingham said only two weeks ago, i.e. that the ISGA should be discussed first and negotiations on core issues followed thereafter. Thamilchelvan's justification for the Tigers' insistence for the ISGA was the "absolute necessity" to address the rehabilitation and reconstruction need of the people which "will win the people's confidence for the peace process". He was also quoted as saying in a media briefing after the meeting with Solheim: "The main problems between the Sri Lanka Government and ourselves have now been resolved, there remains only one problem," referring to the disagreement over the talks' agenda. "The ISGA is the core issue on which we need a response from the Government. It is now in the Government's court," he added. The LTTE Peace Secretariat quoted Solheim as saying that "based on the agreement of the President, we will proceed to prepare a statement reflecting the rest of the procedures connected with the recommencement of the peace talks." Earlier, expectations were that the Norwegians would announce the resumption of talks by last weekend, as hinted by Tiger theoretician, Anton Balasingham. However, the international backers of the peace process seem to be unperturbed by the delay as Japanese special envoy Yasushi Akashi put it. "Time and dates are not important," he said when asked about the delay in the announcement. "We do not want hasty negotiations in which the sides are ill-prepared. It is important to have substantial and fruitful negotiations." However, all indications are that negotiations, once resumed, will be pretty hectic and tough unlike the six previous rounds, given the issues on the table. Negotiations will, indeed, be a test of the flexibility of the two parties to reach a political solution. The Oslo declaration and Tokyo declarations, which outline the framework for a negotiated settlement based on Federalism to the ethnic question seem to have been ignored in the ISGA proposals. In short, the proposals submitted to the Government early November last year, demanded the control of one third of the land mass of Sri Lanka and two thirds of its waters for five years with absolute powers with a separate judiciary, police, and an Auditor General. The Tiger supremo seeks a virtual independent state in the North-East, with an apparent threat of a referendum to secede from the Sri Lankan state, if a final settlement is not reached within five years. If the negotiations on the ISGA, are to be successful, a series of give and take measures by both sides are imperative. Meanwhile, the four co-chairs of the Tokyo Aid Conference- Norway, Japan, USA and EU - are expected to meet on Tuesday (June 1) in Brussels to evaluate the progress of the peace process and disbursement of funds. Resettlement in the High Security Zones will soon overshadow the negotiations once they resume. When the newly appointed Director General of the Ministry of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Reconciliation, Harim Peiris visited Jaffna, he was handed a petition demanding the removal of HSZs by Jaffna civil society groups, most of which were known for their allegiance to the LTTE. Peiris was quoted as saying that resettlement in HSZs "interlinks with three issues: a political decision, security and the humanitarian angle". He sounded optimistic that normalcy could be restored in the lives of Tamil people within two months, if the Government and the civil organisations that represent the LTTE would work together. India has also expressed her willingness to give a hand to rehabilitation work in the North-East, abandoning her hands off approach. Indian High Commissioner Nirupam Sen ruled out India engaging the Tigers, but said Indian firms would go even to the uncleared areas, if they are invited. The Tamil National Alliance urged India to reconsider the ban saying the ban has raised concerns about India's commitment to the peaceful resolution of the ethnic conflict. |
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