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Challenge

The message from Oslo is clear. Now that 'the war has ended', as Anton Balasingham himself observed at the post-conference media briefing, the challenge before all Sri Lankans is to focus with determination on the principal, most urgent task, but most difficult task of cementing the peace.

Not only has Dr. Balasingham spoken out categorically, but a few days later his organisation's supreme leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran also reaffirmed that the current path of this country's history has moved away from bitter war to negotiations, compromises and a just settlement of the conflict.

Just as much as the United National Front Government has been bold to announce its readiness to compromise and has, in signing the Cease-fire Agreement of February 2002, already demonstrated its conciliatory intent, the LTTE has now firmly declared its readiness to accept an 'internal self-determination' and its preference for a non-military solution over and above an armed struggle.

The community of the world's most powerful and richest nations that engaged with the Governmental and LTTE delegations in Oslo, Norway, last week has committed its unequivocal support for the Sri Lankan peace effort. At the same time strong, explicit signals were sent out at the Oslo meeting to both the Government as well as the LTTE concerning the best strategy that could be adopted to pursue the goal of a permanent peace.

The world's most powerful nation, whose global geo-political writ, in some form, will inevitably underwrite our peace process, challenged the LTTE to recant its military orientation completely. The Government, in turn, was challenged to enable all major political forces in the country to contribute to the peace process and the long-term effort to bring about social reconciliation and a fundamental change in political structures.

The Oslo meeting evidences the dramatic progress in the peace process and the stability of the process. The international solidarity pledged in Oslo is the foundation on which global support will continue to be extended to our national effort for peace.

Already, Japan has been offered as the venue for a future round of Government-LTTE negotiations. Japan, too, will host a larger international conference on assistance to this country's effort for rehabilitation and national recovery.

The future path of negotiaitions is long, narrow and difficult. It must be trod with painstaking care and perseverence. While friendly gatherings in international venues have helped ease along the peace process, the stability of the process can only be guaranteed by efforts within the country. As in the past, progress towards a comprehensive settlement remains uncertain in the face of inter-communal tensions in some areas and, yet-to-be-corrected, confused, perceptions of communities and interest groups in the country as a whole.

Given the complexity and difficulty inherent in the future negotiating process, it is crucial that all sections of Sri Lankan society, from different ethnic communities, different social interest groups and civic lobbies, to the mass media, other institutions of society and concerned individual citizens should make a valiant effort to rise above subjective biases, pure self-interest and sheer ignorance of the delicate issues concerned.

The responsibility for success lies not merely with the Government, the Presidency and the LTTE; nor with simply the community of politicians and political parties. There is no doubt that, as the leaders of the people of this country, the politicians of all sides must bear the primary responsibility for success or failure.

The UNF Government has to ensure that the principal Opposition political forces are included in the peace process in a systematic way, while the Opposition must be ready to extend its co-operation in a constructive manner so that no fillibustering endangers the process. At the same time, the President must ensure that the overall regime of governance and law and order remains stable so that a national environment conducive to delicate and intricate negotiations prevails.

But in a sovereign country as ours, democracy must be practised to the full: ultimately the citizenry must take responsibility that our politicians act according to the need of the times and bring about success.

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