LTTE abruptly pulled out from talks - Keheliya
 

by Jayampathy Jayasinghe

The LTTE delegation pulled out of the peace conference in Oslo without any rhyme or reason to the consternation of the Norwegian government putting the peace process in jeopardy.

The Defence Spokesman, Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said at a media briefing at the Gramodaya Centre, Kollupitiya last week that the LTTE delegation had abruptly pulled out of the peace talks at Oslo on flimsy grounds to the embarrassment of the Norwegian government which brokered the peace package to end the nation's conflict.

He said the LTTE's refusal to participate in peace talks was due to several reasons. One reason given by the LTTE was that the Sri Lankan delegation was not represented by a minister. The other was the inclusion of the Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission (SLMM) that consist of members from Scandinavian countries like Sweden, Finland Denmark affiliated to the European Union. This has led to a serious situation affecting the whole peace process.

The international community has taken serious cognisance of the fact, that the LTTE has openly stated that they have no faith in European Union's 25 member countries. "In that case what is the position of foreign nationals from EU countries attached to NGOs working tirelessly for the uplifting of people in the North East, he asked.

He said of the 60 personnel working for the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) there are around 40 from Scandinavian countries and what was their position." he queried.

When asked about the composition of the Sri Lankan delegation to Oslo, as to why they did not include a senior minister at the Peace talks, Minister Rabukwella said they regarded the Oslo meeting as a second grade conference which did not warrant the presence of a minister. The presence of a minister was essential at a full fledged Conference like the one held at Geneva recently, he noted.

The Minister however reiterated the fact that the Sri Lankan delegation at no stage withdrew from peace talks as mentioned by foreign media but it was the LTTE that did so, he concluded.