Govt wants political freedom in NE

Head of Government Peace Delegation, Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva yesterday stressed that political pluralism be ensured and democratic institutions be allowed to function in the North-East, describing them as essential to further the peace process.

Delivering his opening address at the commencement of peace negotiations in Geneva, the Minister outlined several steps which need to be implemented in the normalization process.

He said the majority of Tamil people, approximately 54%, live outside the LTTE controlled areas.

Others live in the uncleared areas undergo untold deprivations. Unfortunately, such people are further victimized by the denial of their civil and political rights, by the imposition of alleged tax and other forms of extortion, and by subjection to inhumane punishments by the LTTE for expressing dissent.

These reasons underlie the preference expressed by the majority of the Tamils to live in government-controlled areas and is evidence of their utter dissatisfaction with the LTTE," he said.

To address this situation, he said the government believed that it was essential that certain normalization steps should be taken in the context of the peace process.

"First, political parties should be given free access to all parts of Sri Lanka, including the uncleared areas as well as the Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts. They should be able to campaign, express dissent, have offices, and operate free of intimidation, threats, and violence."

"Second, democratic institutions should be allowed to function freely and without interference. This includes all offices of the Government of Sri Lanka, including its judicial and law enforcement institutions."

"Third a single mechanism of law and order should be able to function throughout the country, in order to effectively enforce laws and prosecute criminals. This requires providing access to the Police personnel to certain areas, which are currently denied to them, such as the districts of Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi."

"Fourth the groundwork for full democratization of the North and East must be laid. All levels of society, from political leaders to students, could be involved in a process of exploration and discussion, the concept of free expression, on the substantive issues surrounding democracy, including issues of devolution and power-sharing."

The Government's Chief Negotiator also said these ideas of the Government could be further explored and developed during the course of discussions this weekend. "The Government of Sri Lanka attaches utmost priority to this issue because ultimately, achieving an honourable peace requires strengthening the democratic norms and processes in the North and the East," he said. The new trend will progress so that the LTTE leadership could continue to move into the democratic mainstream.