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Hard bargaining on venue for Govt - LTTE talks

by Ranga Jayasuriya

The Sri Lankan peace process is all about bargaining, and even a venue for a preliminary meeting is not spared.

A few days ago, the proposed direct meeting between the government and the LTTE was heading for trouble as the government rejected a LTTE proposal for an overseas venue for the meeting.

The government reasoning that the Tigers could utilize the opportunity given by an overseas venue for their campaign for a separate state, wanted talks to be held in the island, perhaps, even on the no-man's land separating the government and LTTE controlled areas.

Another quagmire

The General impression was that the disagreement over the venue would lead the preparation of talks to another quagmire and that the direct meeting would be delayed for months, if it ever were to take place.

The Tigers have been playing ball with the government. And, always the LTTE leadership was up for a big bargain.

When the government insisted talks in the island, meaning the Government controlled areas, the LTTE leadership replied offering to hold the meeting in Kilinochchi.

The LTTE response, LTTE sources said, had been conveyed to the government through the Norwegian peace facilitators.

So the ball is back on the government side.

And when making a decision on Kilinochchi, the de facto administrative capital of the LTTE, as the venue, the government will have to look into the security of the top security forces representatives who are expected to attend the meeting.

A delegation of security forces top brass and peace secretariat officials are tipped to attend the meeting.

"We think, it will be important to send them there as the meeting will focus on the ceasefire agreement. But, it has not come to the stage of naming the delegation as we are still dealing with the issue of the date and venue," a peace secretariat official told the Sunday Observer.

As for the suitability of Colombo or Jaffna as the venue, the LTTE has raised security fears.

One LTTE source substantiated the movement's security worries with an anecdote of a Tamil businessman, one Mr. Kuhan, who was kidnapped in Colombo and taken to Welikanda where he was held hostage for days before being released after paying a Rs. 7.5 million ransom.

The authenticity of the story could not be verified, but Jaffna based Tamil papers carried the story, highlighting that the kidnapping took place at a time when security had been tightened following the killing of Minister Kadirgamar.

But, none of the Colombo based newspapers reported the incident, except Veerakesari, which about a week ago reported that a businessman in Vavuniya was missing. And no follow up was done by the newspaper.

LTTE propaganda

Perhaps the story may itself be an LTTE propaganda as the focus shifts on the venue of the peace talks.

LTTE peace secretariat chief S. Pulithevan was freely travelling in Colombo, even after the killing of LTTE Eastern political leader Kaushalyan. (Kaushalyan was killed allegedly by gunmen loyal to renegade LTTE Eastern leader Karuna, while travelling from Omanthai to Batticaloa without security escort)

But, the LTTE leadership has already raised security concerns of its delegation, pointing to the routine killings in the East and Colombo.

When the government insisted on a local venue, it had good enough reasons to justify its position as the Tigers had already utilised the opportunity as a smoke screen to get way from growing international condemnation of the killing of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar.

The LTTE had earlier rejected the government's request for a meeting to review the implementation of the truce agreement, insisting on the full implementation of the truce agreement and especially the disarmament of para-military operatives in the East.

But, the swift international reaction and condemnation of the killing of the Foreign Minister, forced the LTTE to re-think its strategy and Balasingham willingly grabbed the offer for a direct meeting between the two parties.

The government argument, i.e the Tigers would utilize the meeting held in an oversees venue for its advantage, has its merits, but in the final analysis, it is the government's ability to launch a counter-propaganda campaign which would decide the success or the failure of the LTTE's strategy.

Kadir legacy

The late Foreign Minister has left a legacy of a successful international campaign, which ultimately led a number of Western nations to ban the LTTE as a foreign terrorist organization. And, that was at a time when anything related to the "freedom fighters" was fashionable in the West, which were the havens of rebel sympathizers who justified, if not glorified suicide bombing in far-off lands.

In this context, it is hard to suggest that a band of LTTE sympathizers and apologists would take the upper hand over the Sri Lankan Government and its diplomats, if they act with professionalism and dedication.

No overseas venue

But, by rejecting the LTTE demand for an overseas venue, the government seemed to have acted to ensure that the LTTE would not have any undue propaganda advantage.

Cabinet spokesman Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva told parliament that the government was committed to resume peace talks and at the same time it was making efforts to put international pressure on the LTTE to adhere to the CFA.

As the government campaigned for international pressure on the Tigers, LTTE proxy Tamil National Alliance met British High Commissioner Stephen Evans on Wednesday to campaign for the Interim Self Governing Authority proposals and full implementation of the Ceasefire Agreement.

That was the first in a series of embassy hopping campaigning of the TNA, which began lobbying for the LTTE as the Tigers remain condemned in the international eye for the killing of Foreign Minister.

The TNA delegation, meeting High Commissioner Evans, requested a resettlement and reconstruction project be launched for the internally displaced persons in the North-East and suggested that the LTTE's ISGA proposals if implemented would help find a solution to the ethnic question.

The TNA gave the British Ambassador a guarantee of the LTTE's adherence to the CFA

And facing international condemnation at the killing of the Foreign Minister, the LTTE leadership seems to have scaled down violence. The East was generally calm last week.

Low profile targets

The Tigers would, however, hunt low profile targets like Rajaratnam Sreekanthan, (58) former PLOTE cadre, who was shot dead by a suspected LTTE gunman in Vavuniya on Wednesday.

Sreekanthan, who disarmed under the Ceasefire Agreement, which envisaged the disarming of para-military cadres was himself a victim of the CFA, which could not live up to its full expectations.

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