Tiger guerrilla Chief Ne gotiator Dr. Anton Balasingham's charge last week that some of the provisions of the Ceasefire Agreement have not been enforced jolted the UNF Government into action.

His accusations came in remarks Dr. Balasingham made in an interview to the Colombo based Tamil daily "Sudhar Oli," a counterpart of "Uthayan," the widely circulated Tamil daily in Jaffna. Both newspapers have impeccable sources within the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

In an interview with Dr. Balasingham, "Sudhar Oli" quoted Dr. Balasingham accusing the Government of weakening the ongoing peace process instead of strengthening it. He had said he would raise various issues in this regard when he met the facilitators, Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesson and Special Envoy Erik Solheim. This he did when he met them in London on Wednesday.

He charged that the security forces were not co-operating towards enforcing the Ceasefire Agreement and claimed they behaved as if the Agreement did not apply to them. This, he alleged, was on the grounds that the LTTE had entered into the Agreement with the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, whilst it was President Kumaratunga who was the Commander-in-Chief.

Daily physical training exercises are a must.

Obstacle courses are regular routine.

Practising an assault after advancing along a stream.

He said troops had not made preparations, in accordance with the Ceasefire Agreement, to withdraw from places of worship, schools and public buildings. The Navy was attacking the guerrillas on land and sea. The Air Force was carrying out reconnaissance flights over the Wanni with Unamanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Similar flights over the Thenmarachchi division in the Jaffna peninsula had caused panic among the civilians. Measures to ease fishing restrictions have not been taken. An assurance to de-proscribe the LTTE had not been fulfilled. Its demand for an Interim Administration has not been heeded.

Asked whether the peace talks scheduled to be held in Thailand would get under way, Dr. Balasingham had replied that the matter was entirely in the hands of the Government of Sri Lanka.

The news of the "Sudhar Oli" interview with Dr. Balasingham was to spur the Government into prompt action. Even before Dr. Balasingham shook hands with the Norwegian facilitators, Director General of the "Peace Secretariat" in the Prime Minister's Office, Bernard Goonetilleke rushed in an Air Force helicopter to Kilinochchi. There he spoke with LTTE Political Wing leader Thamil Selvam, on the issues at dispute and reassured him of the Government's commitment to enforce the Ceasefire Agreement in its entirety.

Even as Mr. Goonetilleke was on his return journey to Colombo, Government machinery was working at full pace. Defence Secretary Austin Fernando, has in separate reports set out the position in respect of troops occupying places of worship, schools and public buildings. This is what he said in each case:

Vacation of places of religious worship: Places of religious worship which were occupied by the three Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force) have been vacated and made accessible to the public, except in certain instances where it has not been possible to permit public congregations, as they are situated in the High Security Zones. Three places of worship where the Buddhist priests and the villagers have requested the armed forces to remain have not been vacated.

They are Etaweeragollewa Temple, Seruwila Temple and the Buddhist temple at Gonagala. As the security situation improves the MOD and the security forces will be pleased to release these places of worship too that have not been vacated. Further, with the improving security situation they will take action to permit accessibility to the places of worship that have not been permitted at present.

Vacation of school buildings: The total number of school buildings occupied by the Armed Forces is 47. Several schools have been vacated in Jaffna District but I am not in a position to submit a list due to my inability to get at the Jaffna Security Forces Commander to obtain confirmation.

In Vavuniya District, the armed forces were in occupation of only two schools and not four as referred to in your letter. The two schools are given under Vavuniya District.
The Army occupies only one school in Mannar District. The schools occupied by the armed forces in Batticaloa District - Army one school and Air Force two schools.

Schedule of public building: According to Article 2.4, the Government has to indicate the return of all other public buildings occupied by armed forces personnel. Due to the fact that many agencies do not function in the North and East (e.g. Customs, Ceylon Electricity Board, certain hospitals, Water Supply & Drainage Board), handing over such public buildings for the intended use does not arise as an immediate concern. Perhaps it will be a requirement at the point of returning of displaced persons to deliver them through Government agencies. It will be an outcome of the improvements in the security situation.

However, Mr. Fernando has said that the Army occupies seven public buildings and the Air Force two. He has added that the Ministry of Defence intends to discuss with the relevant agencies at the centre and with the North-East Provincial Council authorities to ensure scheduling the return of these buildings according to the requirements of the owning agencies and to assist the process of releasing them for their intended use.

According to highly placed Government sources, the question of de-proscribing the LTTE was now receiving the Government's priority consideration. One of two Ministers who have been named as the Government's negotiating team, Prof. G.L. Peiris, these sources said, was now formulating a document spelling out the lines on which a de-proscription should be carried out. The question of an Interim Administration, the same source said, would be a matter for discussion at the Thailand talks. The source also said that measures to further relax fishing restrictions were still being formulated. Hence, a gazette notification would be made only when the measures are finalized.
Whilst the Government is giving priority consideration to issues raised by the LTTE, the Norwegian facilitators are also busy making preparations for the Thailand peace talks. Like in the case of the Ceasefire Agreement between the Government and the LTTE, the Norwegians have called for position papers from both sides on the upcoming talks. Both the Government and the LTTE have been given an identical questionnaire.
A significant question in the questionnaire is whether the facilitators should sit in during talks, should they take part in the discussions, make proposals, suggestions etc.

Here are some highlights of the Norwegian questionnaire, a copy of which was obtained by The Sunday Times.
Format for negotiations:
* How often shall they meet.
* How many days will they sit together at a time.
* What is the preferred size of the delegation.
* Both sides have indicated the need for advisors during negotiations. Should the advisors be permitted a place at the table generally or only when their inputs are required.
* Should Committees/Sub-Committees be used to deal with issues of a more technical nature.
* Should detailed minutes be maintained or only minutes of decisions.
* Should all meetings be finalized by an agreement, Minutes or a statement.
* Experience has shown the advantage of the parties agreeing on guidelines concerning how to deal with the media. What would be the most important elements in such guidelines?
* Experience indicates the usefulness of a set of "rules of procedure" to guide such negotiations. What would be considered important elements?
* Who will chair the meetings and what should be the role of the Chairperson.
Agenda for initial round of meeting
* The relationship between talks on an "Interim Administration" and the process towards a permanent settlement of the ethic conflict.
* Major elements related to an "Interim Administration"
* Problems relating to implementation of the Ceasefire Agreement.
Whether the talks could get under way in Thailand as scheduled will hinge on how soon the unresolved issues are sorted out. Otherwise, there are strong indications the talks will be put off until July.

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