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by Aziz Haniffa , Special Correspondent in Washington, D.C.

The meeting between Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and President George W. Bush July 24 in the Oval Office of the White House - the first high-level exchange between Sri Lanka and the US in 18 years since President Junius Jayawardene was hosted by President Ronald Reagan in 1984 - lasted only 20 minutes. But the symbolism as far as Sri Lanka was concerned was awesome, and worth perhaps hours, if not more.

Bush strongly endorsed the peace process the government was engaged in with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and pledged his full support for its efforts to reach a political solution and end the nearly two-decades old ethnic conflict that has wracked this island nation and taken over 60,000 lives.

And as a bonus, Bush even went on to describe Wickremesinghe as "courageous" for initiating this process that was being facilitated by the Norwegians. Understandably, an elated Wickremesinghe told reporters as he left the White House after his meeting with Bush, "When the President says he is behind you, that means a lot. We came here to discuss mainly about the peace process in Sri Lanka - and I got all the support I want for that."

"President Bush and the US government have encouraged us to go ahead with the political process to bring peace to Sri Lanka, a peace based on equality, human rights, rule of law, in other words, democracy," he said, and added: "The backing he has given me has been a tremendous help."

Later, Wickremesinghe, who had given a Bush a quick update on where the peace process stood at present and outlined the support Sri Lanka needs for the massive reconstruction and rehabilitation drive underway in the North and Northeast devastated by the war, told the Sunday Observer, "First and foremost, what President Bush did was to back the people of Sri Lanka in their desire for peace. It is not an effort of one individual, it is the will of a nation and that counts a lot."

"From the beginning, when the President of the United States and the government says, 'We are behind you,' that means a lot," he said.

Strategies

Wickremesinghe said Bush had told him that "they'll be sending in teams to look at some of our economic strategies, and more than that, the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (that was signed July 25 between US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick and Sri Lanka's Economic Reform and Science and Technology Minister Milinda Moragoda) is a boost."

Wickremesinghe said, "And as far as investment is concerned, what counts is the message that investors back home give to others, whether they are in the US, in India, in Japan. And that message will go out from August onwards when they see us removing the rest of the barriers. Peace itself will be the biggest boost for Sri Lanka's economy." White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said, "The president offered American support for Sri Lanka's pursuit of peace and economic development, and proposed to send several teams to assess how best we can work together in those areas."

The Peace Corps volunteers are also slated to return to Sri Lanka as soon as conditions are conducive to help alleviate economic development and education in the areas battered by the war.

Acknowledging that Bush had lauded him and his government for their "courageous efforts to pursue peace, "Wickremesinghe told The Sunday Observer that the president had also thanked Sri Lanka profusely for the support it has extended for the US-led campaign against global terrorism.

He said there was also a brief discussion of regional issues and Sri Lanka's close relationship with India that has also come out strongly in favor of the peace process. Wickremesinghe also extended an invitation for Bush to visit Sri Lanka anytime he makes a trip to South Asia for which Bush had thanked him and promised to take him up on it.

Robert M. Hathaway, Director of the Asia Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, where the Prime Minister in his first public foray during his five-day visit to the US spoke on the topic of "Trial and Challenges in Sri Lanka: Terrorism and Peace," on July 23, told The Sunday Observer, "It may well be that he didn't spend hours and hours with George Bush, but he spent more time with an American president than any Sri Lankan president or prime minister in the last 18 years."

"And I think that's clearly to his credit. It's a direct American recognition of the seriousness of the peace process and I think it's also a signal to the Tigers that we have a keen interest in these negotiations succeeding and I think its also a signal to the Sinhalese community that we very badly would like to see this succeed," Hathaway added. "So I think, it clearly has to be viewed as a successful trip."

Earlier, in an exclusive interview with this correspondent, Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs, Christina Rocca, the Bush Administration's point person for the subcontinent, who sat in on the meeting between Wickremesinghe and Bush and was one of those who strongly advised the White House to arrange the meeting between the two leaders sooner than later, said, the President's decision to meet with the Prime Minister was clearly a tangible manifestation of Washington's strong support for the latter and his government's "courageous effort" to end the conflict that has ravaged Sri Lanka for nearly two decades.

"He's got this courageous effort under way and we want to be fully supportive of it," she said.

Rocca also said, "It's a possible bright spot on the horizon and we have a situation where we really are cautiously optimistic. From our perspective, we look around the globe and there are all too few bright lights and this is one potential one."

"The situation in the world has changed, (and so it's) that much more important that we are able to reach resolution to these kinds of conflict that can be negotiated. And what a wonderful example that would be."

Rocca besides warning the Tigers not to renege on the ceasefire and torpedo the peace process by saying, "We are watching it very closely, and that terrorism is not acceptable in any form," also had put the ball in President Chandrika Kumaratunga's court in that the US expected her to be fully supportive of the process and not to throw a spanner in the works. "There always a concern, but we also don't have any reason for real pessimism at this point and we see positive statements coming out and we are hopeful that as the issues - as the obstacles - are sort of smoothed out along the road here, it will lead to talks."

Well placed sources told The Sunday Observer that the Prime Minister's trip was originally slotted in the White House calender for September and it would have been an official working visit but replete with more time with Bush than what took place on July 24 and also with either a working luncheon with Secretary of State Colin Powell and perhaps also a meeting with Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon with a honour guard.

Such a visit would also have entailed him as a guest of the President to have been housed in Blair House - opposite the White House - and not stay at the Watergate Hotel as he did.

But evidently, when this window of opportunity presented itself for him to come this month, and even though it was to spend only 15 minutes with Bush, it had been thought that it would be a much better strategic opportunity because getting Washington's strong endorsement for the peace process at a time when the direct talks were yet to take place, would send a clear message to the Tigers that the US expected them to stick to the peace that seemed so close at hand and not play games.

The thinking

Obviously, the thinking in the Prime Minister's office and also the powers that be in the Foreign Ministry would be that a unequivocal show of support from Bush would also get a message out to President Kumaratunga that Washington would not look too kindly if she sabotaged the peace process for reasons of her own political expediency.

Thus, even though in terms of tangibles - for example,promises of massive US bilateral aid to help in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the war-torn areas or to jump-start Sri Lanka's economy were not forthcoming - the US endorsement was expected to send the message to multilateral organizations like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund that Washington would look kindly on any help they could extend to Sri Lanka.

And in Wickremesinghe meetings with World Bank President James Wolfensohn and IMF Managing Director Horst Kohler, such a willingness was clearly evident. In fact, Wolfensohn said he was confident that the Bank could mobilize significant levels of resources over the coming months to support the reconstruction and reconciliation process in Sri Lanka and declared the Bank was prepared to move as quickly as possible because "we are thrilled that the peace process is moving forward in a way that it gives hope not only to the people of Sri Lanka but to the world at large."

Wolfensohn was echoing what had earlier been said by not only President Bush but every other senior Administration official Wickremesinghe had met, like Powell, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, and several US lawmakers, including members of the Senate Foreign Relations and House International Relations Committees, who had indicated strong US support and encouragement for the peace process and assistance for Sri Lanka's economic development.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in fact, circulated a resolution to this effect authored by Senator Richard Lugar, Indiana Republican and the ranking minority member on the panel.

But if Wickremesinghe and his government's efforts had the support of the US Administration and Congress and the likes of the World Bank and IMF, his address to the Woodrow Wilson Center was a tour-de-force that reached out to some of the leading representatives of Washington think tanks,respected scholars and policy wonks and of course the American public and Sri Lankan expatriates, a fair number of whom were Sri Lanka Tamil expatriates.

Equal justice

In his speech, he admitted that "some of the affirmative actions taken by successive governments in Sri Lanka in favour of the majority Sinhalese who were discriminated under the Colonial Rule already affected the Tamil people - for example, the use of their language,opportunities for education and employment. Leaders failed to deliver equal justice and equity in fair measure among the communities."

Consequently, he bemoaned how "a whole community was alienated by the injustices they felt and experienced.For two decades the mainstream political parties were unable to resolve the issues affecting the Tamils. The Tamils tried peaceful protest which soon degenerated into violence. With the underlying grievances being unattended the stage was set for terrorist groups to emerge. Whatever the causes, the reality became the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or LTTE."

And in the question and answer session that followed his speech, he also pledged never to allow the Muslims to be a "minority within a minority," in the Eastern Province and said the recent violence in Vallachennai between the LTTE and the Muslims was an aberration.

"Muslims are citizens of Sri Lanka and all citizens have equal rights," he said, "whether it be in the areas they live or the religion they practise and whether they are in the minority or the majority."

Wickremesinghe recalled that "Muslims have lived in the Eastern Province for centuries. Historically they've been there, some of them actually living on grants given by the old kings of Kandy - Muslims around Kalmunai and Batticaloa."

He said that Muslim leader Rauf Hakeem had already met with the LTTE and even before the recent violence between the LTTE and the Muslims in Vallaichennai, the LTTE had accepted the rights of the Muslims to be in the East.

Wickremesinghe said the delegation to the talks with the LTTE, when it does take place would include "Mr. Rauf Hakeem as a member of the government's delegation". Hathaway said, "This was one of the best political addresses I've heard in quite a while, and I've heard many, many, political speeches".

"He reached out to the minority community. He demonstrated a willingness to be flexible on detail. He also showed a determination and a vision", Hathaway noted. According to Hathaway, "The fact that we not only filled up the largest room we have at the Wilson Center, but also filled up our overflow room, indicates that we succeeded in getting a wide segment of the Washington body politic to listen to him. But it also indicated that people are interested in, and currently concerned about Sri Lanka".

In the question and answer session, Wickremesinghe strongly defended his decision to negotiate with the LTTE - that is also banned in the US and designated a foreign terrorist organization (FTO), asserting that it was in no way a case of rewarding terrorism and thereby compromising America's global war on terrorism.

He took on some of the naysayers, pointing out that there were several recent historical precedents to such negotiations including the United Kingdom's modus vivendi with the Irish Republican Army (IRA) on the Northern Ireland quagmire and even the case of the US rapprochement with the Communist Vietcong to bring the Vietnam war to an end.

Wickremesinghe argued, "If by negotiations with the LTTE, we resolve that issue and by resolving this issue, there's one place in this globe, where we have done away with arms struggle, guerrilla warfare and terrorism, then the whole world benefits. So in a sense, we are tackling issues than can be resolved, thereby what is known as global terrorism is affected adversely".

"In today's context", he declared, "what I do will not in any way harm a process that has started after September 11 - it will only strengthen it. And it will also show other parts of the world - other groups - that there is a possibility of them coming into the mainstream of politics".

The delay

Wickremesinghe also sought to allay apprehension that the delay in the direct talks with the LTTE, scheduled for June in Bangkok, was cause for concern. "As far as the peace talks are concerned, we don't want to set any specific dates. If you set dates and time-frames, you trip up on the dates and the time-frame. These things are not easy".

He said the LTTE was waiting until August 2 to determine if the obligations under the Memorandum of Understanding like the army vacating temples and schools in the Jaffna Province have been fulfilled, "and we have no problems about it".

"So we are prepared to wait and after August 2, then we will decide how we are moving forward. We have no problems even if its August, September, or October, because the process is moving forward and that's what matters".

Meanwhile, Wickremesinghe expressed confidence that he did not expect Tamil Nadu support for the LTTE to complicate matters as it had done in the past and claimed that such support had nose-dived in the aftermath of the Rajiv Gandhi killing. "It's more a question of vocal support and not of support by means of money or arms. But it's a very touchy issue in Tamil Nadu-whether the LTTE should be allowed to operate or not. It's still a domestic political issue in Tamil Nadu".

Needless to say, his performance vindicated the introduction of him by the much respected Director of the Wilson Center, former Congressman Lee Hamilton, who in his previous incarnations had chaired the House Foreign Affairs and International Relations Committees, was praised Wickremesinghe for "his leadership in reaching out to the Tigers and for pursuing this course of peace and negotiation".

"The United States and the world welcome this political dialogue and look forward to a Sri Lanka free from violence and ethnic divisions", he said, and referred to the "reinvigorated cooperation between the United States and Sri Lanka, "since 9/11 to" combat the common threat of terrorism and to pursue more open trade between the two countries."

Hamilton also spoke of the more active role Washington has played "to encourage the peace process in Sri Lanka", and heaped kudos for Sri Lanka's support to the US "in the international campaign against terrorism".

"The Prime Minister's visit to Washington is a signal of this enhanced friendship and cooperation", he said.

The summit with Bush obviously buoyed Wickremesinghe's meeting with the Washington press corps at the National Press Club, where, while acknowledging that the September 11 terror attacks on America was certainly a catalyst that brought the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE to the negotiating table, even if 9/11 had not happened, his government would still have sat across the table with the LTTE to talk peace.

"Even before September 11, my party had been talking on the need for a political settlement. Certainly, we would have been sitting down and talking. But September 11, did alter the situation".

"In a sense", he noted, "it gave a window of opportunity to try and come to an agreement. On one hand, the major governments in the world - the Western world - decided that they wanted to see an end to global terrorism and also to see wherever possible to bring arms struggles, guerrilla warfare, and terrorism in the national context to as halt. They were looking at the different flows of funds, they were inspecting, they were taking more stringent methods than they did earlier. All this contributed to a settlement. So I would say, September 11, accelerated a process".

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