Solheim meets monk

By Nirupama Subramanian

COLOMBO, JUNE 29 In an attempt to be seen as receptive to all viewpoints on Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict, the Norwegian special envoy, Mr. Erik Solheim, held discussions with an influential Buddhist monk here who has opposed both talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and devolution as a solution to the conflict.

Mr. Solheim met Mr. Madihe Panneseeha, a member of the Buddhist clergy, who is well known for his hardline views on the ethnic conflict, yesterday.

After meetings with Government and Opposition leaders and representatives of Tamil political parties, the special envoy left last evening for New Delhi on the next leg of his shuttle diplomacy between the LTTE, the Sri Lankan Government and India.

``Rev.Panneseeha made it clear that the Sinhalese people do not want intervention by any country, be it Norway, India or anyone, in what is clearly an internal problem,'' said an aide of the monk, who was present at the meeting.

According to the aide, Mr. Panneseeha made a specific mention of the ``bitter experience'' of Indian soldiers on Sri Lankan soil in 1987.

Two months ago, a delegation of senior monks met the Indian High Commissioner here demanding Indian assistance to stop the LTTE advance into the Jaffna peninsula.

It is evident that hardline Sinhalese nationalists are not opposed to military help from foreign countries to defeat the LTTE, but are against any efforts to engage the separatist group in negotiations, especially if that might lead to the group assuming political power in north-eastern Sri Lanka.

Hours after the arrival of Mr. Solheim here early this week, a grenade was hurled into the office compound of Save The Children, an aid agency based in the UK and Norway.

No one was hurt in the explosion, similar to the one near the Norwegian embassy last month which coincided again with the visit of a delegation led by the Deputy Foreign Minister, Mr. Raymond Johansen.

Norway is perceived by the Sinhalese as soft on the LTTE and in that sense, it is now seen almost in the same light as India was in 1987.

Earlier this year, the Buddhist monks led a procession to the embassy and burnt the Norwegian flag in protest against talks with the LTTE, and what they described as ``interference'' by Norway in Sri Lanka's internal affairs.

According to Mr Pannaseeha's aide, the special envoy, who was accompanied by the Norwegian Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mr. Jon Westborg, told the senior monk that his country's initiative to facilitate a dialogue between the LTTE and the Government was at the invitation of the President, Mrs. Chandrika Kumaratunga.

He reportedly said Norway would back off from these efforts if the Government of Sri Lanka were to withdraw that invitation.

Mr. Pannaseeha is believed to have told Mr. Solheim that even if the efforts to bring the LTTE to the negotiating table were successful, the group would not be interested in anything less than an independent Eelam, so there was no point talking to it.

It is now 18 months since Norway first began attempts to facilitate a dialogue between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan Government. Till now, there seems to have been little progress, with the current military stalemate in Jaffna peninsula bogging down the efforts.

Mr Solheim is reported to have met the LTTE's representative in London, Mr Anton Balasingham, before arriving here. But with no breakthrough to report, Mr Solheim did not meet Mrs. Kumaratunga.

``He did not seem optimistic, but neither did he seem pessimistic,'' was the reading of the general-secretary of the Tamil United Liberation Front, Mr. R. Sampanthan, who also met Mr. Solheim yesterday.

According to those who have met Mr. Solheim, the Norwegians have refused to be drawn into time-frames for results. This is in direct contrast to the present mood of the President, Mrs. Kumaratunga, who seems determined to push through a political solution before the term of the present Parliament ends this August.

The President had earlier set June 30 as the deadline for wrapping up talks with the opposition on the political package. The ruling People's Alliance and the United National Party are scheduled to meet for a final round of talks on it tomorrow.

With a general election due and her credibility in balance, Mrs. Kumaratunga does not have the luxury of time. She has said she will present the devolution package to Parliament next month, and that the LTTE can participate in the proposed interim council in north-eastern Sri Lanka if it joins the democratic mainstream. At least for now, it seems that the Norwegian initiative is not President Kumaratunga's main preoccupation.

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