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Sunday, 31 October 2004  
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Ideal chance to douse ethnic conflict - DEW Gunasekera

by M. P. Muttiah

This was the great opportunity to douse the ethnic conflict, but it should not be a burden on the future generation, said Constitutional Affairs and National Integration Minister DEW Gunasekera at a seminar `Whither the Peace Process', organised to mark Pieter Keuneman Commemoration Day at the Russian Cultural Centre in Colombo on Thursday.

Environment and Natural Resources Minister A.H.M. Fowzie, the Chairman of Pieter Keuneman Commemoration Committee, presided.

Minister Gunasekera said that it was not easy to forget the suspicions and misunderstandings of the past twenty years. The delay in recommencing talks was that both sides viewed each other with suspicion. Therefore, measures to restore confidence building was the need of the hour.

Gunaskera said: "Now everyone speaks of peace. Of the two hundred and twenty parliamentarians no one is against it. But, in 1986, I was the only one who spoke for peace. The situation in the country is quite different now. The support of the Maha Sangha for the solution of the ethnic crisis is a good example. The religious leaders are more enlightened on the national problem.

Their contribution is invaluable. Attempts are being made to divert the views of the Maha Sangha, but they are not popular. Even in the past, mention was made about an Interim Authority to administer the North- East. However, the government has not entirely rejected the concept of an Interim Self-Governing Authority. But now, certain forces make a big hue and cry about that. We must draw lessons from international experiences. The Palestinian problem is still unresolved due to lack of proper understanding by both parties concerned."

'Now in Sri Lanka, the problem is not the North, but the South. The ethnic crisis is being viewed by all political parties as a national problem. Political parties should unite to resolve it. If both major parties in the South failed to do so, the problem cannot be solved. Discussions with diverse political parliamentarians, including the UNP and the TNA, are fruitful. Certain sections of the media are out to destroy the understanding that was created,' he added.

Referring to the rehabilitation work in the North-East under the present government, Gunaskera said money had been already allocated to rebuild 60 bridges. Unlike in the past, even the LTTE did not complain of any corruption.

Gunasekera said that Pieter Keuneman clearly understood the problem after independence. That was why he introduced the concept of a Regional Autonomy as a solution in the 1950s. If he was alive, his contribution would have been very significant to the present crisis.

Oslo Accord

Professor Laxman Marasinghe said that the Oslo accord was a landmark in the peace process. It contained three important elements - consolidation of ceasefire agreement, humanitarian aid and reconstruction and other political issues. Some important items were included in the Oslo accord at the request of the LTTE, who insisted that federalism be included in it. One of the five main aspects included exploring the possibility of arriving at a feasible solution.

New Federal state

He said that the right of internal self-determination, the right to manage their own affairs, existed in South Africa, Cyprus, Canada and several other countries. The Oslo accord clearly provided a well defined federal system, creating a federal state within Sri Lanka, denied confederation and did not allow any possibility of separation. These elements were included at the insistence of the LTTE. According to that accord, any violation of the ceasefire agreement could not be corrected without consensus of both parties.

Professor Marasinghe said that the ceasefire was not strong enough, and urged to restart the peace process on the basis of Oslo accord. Professor Jayadeva Uyangoda said there was a deadlock in the peace process, but now the problem was how to go ahead with it, for which a consensus among all political parties was vital.

Both the Government and the LTTE had said they were ready for talks, but the reason for the delay was not clearly known. He said there was no mutual trust between the two parties. Any party or movement might think that the problem could be resolved unilaterally, but under the negotiation theory,only a bilateral solution could be found.

This would lead to successfully rebuild the mutual trust between the two sides. Professor Uyangoda said the ISGA proposal was a stepping stone for a new federal state. Rebuilding a new state was a challenge and it was a transition from war to peace. The proposals introduced by the EPDP leader Doughlas Devananda at the inaugural ceremony of the National Advisory Council on Peace and Reconciliation were indeed commendable.

They were radical than the previous proposals and had defined a permanent merger and federalism to the North East, the appointment of judges, creation of a separate police force and obtaining foreign aid for development. Talks should be held on these proposals.

The gulf between parties would not produce possible results, Professor Uyangoda said.

R. Nimalan of the National Peace Council said that the ISGA proposal was relevant and pertinent. Basically, any reconstruction should take into account human resources and core political problems. The ISGA had been an evolutionary change after a half-a-century history of Sri Lanka. A mutually acceptable solution should be found as the time was running out.

The ISGA had become relevant after the failure of successive military operations. The existing structures were not sufficient to meet the needs of reconstruction. Therefore, the ISGA had emerged as a structure to manage a restructured and reunited Sri Lanka.

Quoting Albert Einstein, he said, significant problems that were prevalent today could not be solved by the same level at the time they were created.

Nimalan said ISGA could be the basis for the negotiation between the LTTE and the Government.

Attorney-at-Law Rajah Collure also addressed the gathering.

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