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Conditions met, but confusion remains
Only
the weather gods seemed somewhat unkind. Otherwise the Norwegian
peace facilitators, who met President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga
for a four hour long, meeting in Nuwara Eliya, were thrilled beyond
expectations. Their meeting came in the wake of her telephone call to Norwegian Prime Minister, Kjell Magne Bondevik (on the night of April 22) to say her newly elected United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Government was willing to resume peace talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Deputy Foreign Minister, Vidar Helgesen, Special Envoy Erik Solheim and Norwegian Ambassador Hans Brattskar were equally happy. The descriptions they gave after the meeting to those in the Colombo based diplomatic community and others reflected this extraordinary euphoria. "She
was very well focused, articulate and to the point. There were no
diversions or angry outbursts," said one. "This was the
best among the meetings I have had with her in the past five years,"
said another. Further remarks referred to the confidence President
Kumaratunga exuded when she declared she was willing to give leadership
to the peace process no matter what others (meaning her constituent
partners of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Government)
had to say about it. She said institutional arrangements to re commence
peace talks were ready and felt there should be more transparency. Bolstering
the euphoria for the Norwegian facilitators was the response they
received when they had two hours of talks with LTTE's Political
Wing leader, S.P. Tamilselvan. That meeting was sans Deputy Minister
Helgesen. But
their return journey by a Sri Lanka Air Force Bell 212 helicopter
ran into problems. The chopper could not reach Kilinochchi due to
bad weather. The Norwegian team had a string of engagements in Colombo
on Monday evening. They decided to travel by road. They reached
Vavuniya by night and were heading towards Dambulla. The enterprising
SLAF pilot took off after weather had cleared partially and landed
in Vavuniya. There he picked up Raja Wickremasinghe, a Liaison Officer
at the Peace Secretariat in Colombo. He accompanied the facilitators
whenever they travelled to Wanni but returned to Vavuniya until
it was time to return to escort them back. Thereafter
the pilot tracked down the Norwegian team somewhere near Dambulla.
He made a night landing, picked them up and brought them to Colombo.
One of the immediate tasks for the team was to brief Foreign Minister
Lakshman Kadirgamar, at his Wijerama residence. That
was on the response the Norwegian facilitators had received from
the LTTE to President Kumaratunga's offer to resume talks. If President
Kumaratunga was focused and wanted to guide the peace process, the
sequence of events since her talks with the Norwegian team clearly
illustrates the confusion and contradictions caused by others responsible
in the UPFA Government. That
clearly showed there was a lack of direction and control at the
highest levels. Hence some of the measures seemed to run counter
to the ideals set out by President Kumaratunga. A brief look at some of these events underscores the situation. First to the official statement issued by the Norwegian delegation after their meeting with President Kumaratunga in Nuwara Eliya on May 2. It said: "Deputy
Minister Vidar Helgesen, accompanied by Special Adviser Erik Solheim
an Ambassador Hans Brattskar, have today, Sunday 2 May, had an extensive
and constructive meeting with President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga
in Nuwara Eliya. "The
President and Mr. Helgesen had initial consultations on all aspects
of the peace process. The Norwegian delegation will continue the
consultations with the LTTE Monday 3 May to explore possibilities
of recommencing direct peace negotiations between the Government
of Sri Lanka and the LTTE. "It
might take some time before the parties are in a position to return
to the negotiation table and in the meantime it is important for
both sides to respect and abide by the cease-fire agreement and
to work closely with the SLMM", said Deputy Minister Helgesen. The
Norwegian statement was cautious and declared the delegation "will
continue the consultations with the LTTE Monday May 3 to explore
possibilities of recommending direct peace negotiations between
the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE." It made clear "it
might take some time before the parties are in a position to return
to the negotiation table…" One
would have thought the Norwegian statement came with the concurrence
of the Sri Lankan side and would be the only official account. That
was not to be. The Presidential Secretariat issued another statement
on the same talks on May 2. This is what it said: "A
delegation of the Norwegian Government, comprising of Mr. Vidar
Helgeson, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Hans Brattskar,
Ambassador, Mr.Erik Solheim, Special Envoy and two Foreign Ministry
officials called on President Kumaratunga who was accompanied by
Mr. Lakshman Kadirgamar, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr.S. Pallihakkara
Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and another official of the
Government of Sri Lanka (Note: the reference is to Defence Secretary
Cyril Herath) to discuss issues related to commencement of negotiations
between the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE. "The
exchange of views was constructive and cordial. The discussions
focussed on a range of issues related to the modalities and substance
of the negotiations process and the need to commence development
work in the North and East without delay, with full participation
of the LTTE. The President also explained to the Norwegian delegation
the institutional arrangements that are being established to guide
and implement the development programmes of the North and East and
the negotiations process. "The
Norwegian delegation will be proceeding to the Vanni tomorrow, 03rd
May, for consultations with the LTTE and they will brief the President
on the LTTE's views on their return." As
is clear, the focus of the Press Releases from the Norwegian delegation
and the Presidential Secretariat were different. The first spoke of continuing consultations to explore possibilities of recommencing direct peace negotiations. It cautioned i t might
take some time. The second, however, made no such reference. According
to authoritative sources, even before President Kumaratunga telephoned
Premier Bondevik to urge him to re-commence peace efforts, contacts
had been under way with the LTTE through informal channels. Such
contacts had helped the two sides address some of the preliminary
issues including immediate concerns of the LTTE. These immediate
concerns related to pre conditions or, in LTTE's terms, "requirements"
that had to be fulfilled. These
sources said the informal contacts paved the way, even before the
Nuwara Eliya talks, for the UPFA to clear some of the issues. Thereafter,
the main issue was cleared when President Kumaratunga acknowledged
"the need to commence development work in the North and East
without delay, with full participation of the LTTE." The LTTE
has already made clear that the institutional mechanism for development
work in the North and East would be solely through its proposed
Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA). It
was only last Thursday, a group of Tamil National Alliance parliamentarians
asked member countries of the European Union to release development
aid for the North and East to the Sri Lanka Government only after
the ISGA is established. The Tamilnet website said the TNA MPs led
by group leader R. Sampanthan made the request during a discussion
with representatives of EU member countries. This explains why the Presidential Secretariat on May 4 announced that the "LTTE is fully prepared to commence talks with the Government at a time convenient to the Government." This is also why it said "the Norwegian facilitators stated that the LTTE had no pre conditions attached to the commencement of the talks." What ever pre conditions, or as the LTTE called it requirements that existed, had been fulfilled. The
Presidential Secretariat announcement came after Norwegian facilitators,
who held talks with LTTE's Political Wing leader, S.P. Tamilselvan
in Kilinochchi (on May 3) reported on the outcome to Foreign Minister,
Lakshman Kadirgamar. Here is the full text of the Press Release
issued by the Presidential Secretariat: "The
Norwegian delegation comprising Erik Solheim, Ambassador Hans Brattskar
and Lisa Golden (note: Lisa Golden did not visit Sri Lanka with
the Norwegian delegation this week. This
was a factual error by those at the Presidential Secretariat) briefed
Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar on 3rd May on their return
from Kilinochchi where they had conveyed to the LTTE the results
of their consultation with the President. The talks had lasted more
than two hours. E is
fully prepared to commence talks with the Government at a time convenient
to the Government. He also reiterated their continued commitment
to compliance with the Ceasefire Agreement. The Norwegian facilitators
stated that the LTTE had no preconditions attached to the commencement
of the talks. Mr Tamilchelvam had appreciated the messages received
from the President through the Norwegian facilitators. The facilitators
described their consultation with the LTTE as constructive. They
remain optimistic about further progress." Is
the assertion that the LTTE agreed to resume talks with the UPFA
Government at "anytime convenient" true? Is the claim
that they were willing to do so without any pre-conditions, or say
as the LTTE would like to call it "requirements," a true
position? By this, does the Presidential Secretariat mean the LTTE
was always willing to hold talks at "anytime" without
any pre conditions? Or, are they trying to hide the fact that there
were in fact pre-conditions and they do not exist now because they
have been met? The
LTTE backed Tamil National Alliance (TNA) manifesto at the April
2 general elections sought a mandate from Tamil speaking voters
of the North and East. TNA's Joseph Pararajasingham spelt this out
to The Sunday Times (Situation Report - March 28). He set out the
four point "mandate" they sought: 1.
The LTTE is the sole representative of the Tamil people (2) Tamils
are a nation (3) Tamils have a right to self determination. The
concept of a homeland with the North-East merger has to be recognised.
4. The international community should bring pressure on the Government
coming to power to accept the LTTE proposals for an Interim Self
Governing Authority (ISGA). The
LTTE position was further re-iterated by their Chief Negotiator,
Anton Balasingham, in an interview from London to the Colombo based
Tamil daily, Sudar Oli, on April 26. The
LTTE's insistence on their being recognised as the sole representative
of the Tamil people was resolved even before Norwegian facilitators
raised the matter. It came when Foreign Minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar,
declared in New Delhi that "by implication" LTTE was the
sole representative of the Tamil people. The matter of "self
determination" coupled together with no change being made to
the merged North-East were broader issues to be discussed when the
ISGA proposal is examined. And
now, the LTTE has officially acknowledged the UPFA would talk ISGA
when peace talks resume. This is what the official LTTE Peace Secretariat
website had to say: "…Mr
Erik Solheim undertook to convey the sentiments expressed by Mr.
Tamilselvan to the President and on reaching an agreeable position
regarding an agenda for the recommencement of negotiations, having
in mind the ISGA as the basis for any development projects, will
convey it to Kilinochchi for future moves." Therefore, it is now clear why the Presidential Secretariat said the LTTE was willing to resume negotiations at any time convenient to the UPFA. It is also clear why there are no pre conditions. They have been met. That
is not to say no other issues were raised by the LTTE during last
Monday's talks with the Norwegian facilitators. The Sunday Times
has learnt there were quite a few. A sampling: =
A role for India. This is in the wake of statements by Foreign Minister,
Lakshman Kadirgamar, that he saw an active role for India. During
his visit to New Delhi last month, he raised this matter with his
Indian counterpart, Yashwant Sinha. Later, Shri Sinha told a news
conference in Chennai that Mr. Kadirgamar had told him India should
play an active role but when asked what this role was, he( Mr Kadirgamar)
had said he would return to Colombo and clarify. The
LTTE was also concerned about moves by the UPFA to revive the proposed
Defence Co-operation Agreement (DCA) with India. It was only last
Wednesday, a local Tamil TV station quoted Defence Secretary, Cyril
Herath as saying Sri Lanka has sent the draft of the proposed DCA
to the Indian Government for study. That such a revelation has been
made when President Kumaratunga is attempting to re-start the peace
process, must one say, does not send the right message to the LTTE? The Sunday Times learnt that Norwegian facilitators made clear to the LTTE that they had received no signals from the Government of India about playing any new role in the ongoing peace process. They had been fully supportive of the Norwegian efforts. In fact, Deputy Minister Helgesen, who came for talks with President Kumaratunga heeding a call to resume peace efforts, had stopped in New Delhi en route to Colombo. He had held talks with National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister, Brijesh Mishra. He had expressed full support for the Norwegian efforts. India
had, however, re-iterated their eagerness to step up their role
as a bi-lateral donor of aid to rehabilitate and develop the war
ravaged North-East. The point was made that no party, politician
or media in Colombo could determine a role for India. Such a role
would have to be determined by the Government in India. Special
Envoy Erik Solheim had also had talks with the Indian High Commissioner
in Colombo, Nirupam Sen. At no stage had the latter requested a
new role for India. The LTTE, The Sunday Times learnt, had also insisted that Norway should continue to play the role of peace facilitator. They have said there should be no change in this arrangement and that both parties should continue to uphold the Ceasefire Agreement and fully support the role of the SLMM. = The
venue for any future peace talks. Sections of the UPFA Government
had held that future peace talks should be held within the shores
of Sri Lanka. However, the LTTE is strongly against such a move.
The
Sunday Times learnt the Norwegian facilitators made clear they would
come up with proposals for a venue outside Sri Lanka if the two
sides are unable to reach agreement on one. = The LTTE has expressed apprehensions that the Sri Lankan security forces were supportive of the Karuna faction. It has warned that the Sri Lanka Army, if it harbours Karuna and his men, were in fact jeopardising the peace process. There were also references to recent attacks reportedly by the Karuna faction on troops loyal to the Wanni leadership. The
Sunday Times learnt that the Norwegian delegation has conveyed to
the LTTE certain assurances given by President Kumaratunga in this
regard. This includes instructions she had handed down to the Security
Forces. This was one of the main reasons why Defence Secretary,
Cyril Herath, was invited to be a member of the Sri Lankan side
that talked to Mr.Helgesen and others in Nuwara Eliya. It
is in this backdrop that Norwegian Foreign Minister, Jan Petersen,
arrives in Colombo tomorrow. He will be joined by his deputy, Vidar
Helgesen. It
is more than a goodwill visit. He is to hold talks both with President
Kumaratunga and LTTE leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran. This
is to formally acknowledge that Norway had heeded the wishes of
both the UPFA Government and the LTTE to resume peace talks. Mr Petersen's talks with President Kumaratunga in itself will be significant. He will ascertain the institutional arrangements and and the basis on which she wants to proceed with the talks. Even if the UPFA does not give those plans in writing to the Norwegians, a commitment will have to be re-iterated that the Ceasefire Agreement (signed by former Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe) would be upheld and the role of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) fully supported. No amount of official denials can hide that reality. |
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Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
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