Weekly Review
Sri Lanka Scene
13 August 2004
Talking Again about Talks
by T. Sabaratnam
Tension has begun to ease in Sri Lanka. The fear of another round of war is receding. A Norwegian diplomat confidently told international investors on Thursday that Sri Lanka would not face another full-fledged war.
Norwegian embassy first secretary Christian Fougner, launching a Norwegian-based multinational company in Sri Lanka, said, “Even though a peaceful, settlement is not yet in place, I am optimistic that the parties will not go back to a full-fledged war. I therefore think it is a wise decision to invest in Sri Lanka now.”
Fougner made that prediction on the basis of the developments during the last week. Three of those developments stand out. Foremost among them was the consolidation of the LTTE’s predominant position in the eastern province. The flight of Karuna, the slaying of his second in command Kuganesan and six others in Kottawa, and the killing of the notorious PLOTE Mohan have helped this consolidation process.
The consolidation process is still on. On Thursday night two men believed to be Karuna supporters were killed on the main road near Kiran junction. Three more were killed this week.
Military consolidation will be followed by political strengthening. LTTE political chiefs of the Batticaloa – Ampara and the Tamil National Alliance parliamentarians of the east on Thursday jointly mapped out the strategy for a grassroots campaign to educate people on the political, economic, social and historical background and roots of the Tamil struggle.
The strategy worked out was for TNA MPs and civil society leaders to hold meetings in every village and explain the political and historical reasons for the establishment of the Interim Self Governing Authority in the northeast. They will also explain the significance of Tamil nationalism.
E. Kousalyan, head of the LTTE’s political division for Batticaloa-Amparai, told the 3-hour planning session at Soliyaham, an LTTE conference centre near Kokkaddicholai, that the people should be made aware that Tamil nationalism is the basis of the Tamil freedom struggle. Karuna’s treachery lies in destroying that base for the benefit of Sinhala chauvinism.
Having consolidated its strength, the LTTE returned to meeting with the security forces after boycotting such meetings since mid-June. Their return sent a telling message to the government that the Sinhala effort to weaken the LTTE had failed. This was in addition to the news of the passing-out parade of the LTTE’s new Rocket Propelled Grenade Unit.
Tiger National Leader Velupillai Pirapaharan told the parade that he was the first to introduce the RPG into the Eelam war and that had turned the war in the LTTE’s favour on several occasions.
The return of military parity was the main reason, military analysts say, for the easing of the tension. Government forces and the LTTE met at Akkaipattu on Wednesday, where they pledged to continue to honour and respect the Ceasefire Agreement, which had come under severe stress since the Karuna revolt and the role Military Intelligence had played in that revolt came to light. The Ceasefire Agreement was signed by the Government of Sri Lanka and LTTE on February 22, 2002.
The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), which arranged the meeting, in a release on Wednesday stated, “The parties reviewed and discussed general matters. A common understanding was reached regarding body checks, baggage checks and vehicle checks. It was also agreed by both parties to honour and cooperate in order to avoid any violation of Ceasefire Agreement.”
The second development was the preparations the government is making to promote peace talks. The Government on Wednesday and Thursday reiterated its firm commitment to resuming peace talks with the LTTE as soon as possible. It gave an assurance through cabinet spokesman Mangala Samaraweera and United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) general secretary Maithripala Sirisena that the ceasefire agreement would be respected and peace talks would resume soon. Saramaweera, reiterating the government’s eagerness to resume negotiations, said, “If we can sit across the table, then most of these problems can be sorted out.”
The problem he adverted to, and which is worrying the government most, was the reported build up of LTTE’s military installations in Sampur, the village south of the Trincomalee harbour. Defence Secretary Cyril Herath lodged a complaint with the SLMM on Thursday about it. “The government alleges that there are 13 camps around this (harbor) area,” said Hagrup Haukland, the truce monitors’ deputy chief. “We are in the process of checking it out.” Samaraweera said if the reports on the build up were accurate “it would put a certain amount of strain on the peace process.”
Sirisena said President Kumaratunga stood by the undertaking she gave to Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgessen when he met her last month. She told Helgessen on 27 July that her government was “willing and is keen to commence negotiations on an Interim Authority within the framework of a united state.”
But on 4 August, following the previous night’s UPFA Executive Committee meeting, the state-controlled media said Kumaratunga had told the JVP that she would not discuss the LTTE’s Interim Authority proposals. The Daily News headlined the story thus: UPFA says ‘no’ to LTTE’s ISGA.
Kumaratunga was annoyed with this story. She called the Lake House chairman and scolded him. She asked him to find out how that story got to the state media. They found that it was given by the JVP. She ordered the dismissal of JVP nominees in Lake House, Rupavahini, ITN and SLBC.
The Presidential Secretariat then issued a clarification. It said, “The President maintains that the Government of Sri Lanka is willing to discuss with the LTTE its proposals for an Interim Administration leading to the final solution acceptable to all communities.”
Critics say this clarification has further confounded the issue. The LTTE is insisting that ISGA should be the sole issue in the agenda for talks. But the JVP, an important government partner, is saying that the ISGA should not be in the agenda at all. Kumaratunga is trying to get out of the JVP trap.
Kumaratunga has invited Helgessen to visit Sri Lanka again. He is expected to be back later this month. And on the instruction of Kumaratunga the Government Peace Secretariat is preparing a counter proposal to the LTTE’s ISGA proposal. Peace Secretariat director Jayantha Dhanapala told civil society leaders in Jaffna on Monday the government – LTTE talks would be on the basis of the two proposals.
The government proposals are complete, informed sources said. It will be fine tuned in the coming days and would be handed over to the LTTE through Helgessen.
Political analysts said Kumaratunga has now accepted the establishment of an interim authority. She told a French news agency that there would be hard bargaining on two areas: finance and defence. Sinhala rulers have from the start refused to part with financial and police powers.
To be able to discuss these matters, Kumaratunga is trying to free herself from the clutches of the JVP, the significant third development. She moved in that direction when she resigned from the post of president of the UPFA on 5 August. The resignation was seen as a move to release her from the JVP’s pressure. She had also refused to give an appointment to the JVP leadership to meet her. She also turned down the JVP’s invitation to participate in a big show, the Thousand Tank Programme.
The JVP is ready hit back. It will try to put road blocks all around. The latest instance was the opposition it showed to the Government’s decision to permit the LTTE to import four vehicles for the use of LTTE’s Peace Secretariat. The request was sent to the Government Peace Secretariat through the SLMM. The government granted the request, saying that that would encourage the peace process. The JVP has opposed it. It has threatened to block the handing over of the duty free vehicles to the LTTE.
The JVP could make things very difficult for Kumaratunga. But Kumaratunga can make the JVP look ridiculous. The government last week raised the price of petrol by 8 rupees a litre. The JVP said the price rise should have been avoided. When asked how to meet that loss, JVP suggested the conduct of a lottery, the proceeds of which could be used to off set the loss!