Erik Solheim bets on peace

By Nirupama Subramanian

COLOMBO, MARCH 24. Mr. Erik Solheim, Norwegian special envoy who has been trying to bring the Sri Lanka Government and the LTTE to the negotiating table, said reports that New Delhi had recently told the Sri Lankan Government that Norway should restrict itself to a facilitatory role, and not become a mediator, were ``untrue''. He pointed out that Norway was assisting Sri Lanka ``because we are asked to do so by the sovereign Government of that country and by the LTTE.''

Questions have been raised in Sri Lanka about Norway's role after peace talks begin. Mr. Solheim, speaking to The Hindu from Oslo, said that would be decided by those who are party to the conflict. ``We will assist to the extent that the Government and the LTTE find useful. We will never do more. We will try not to disappoint anyone by doing less. We are not in any business of peace enforcement, only offering our services as long as the parties so wish,'' he said. The special envoy said there was ``room for optimism'' that the peace initiative was headed in the right direction, but cautioned that the process was ``fragile and vulnerable''.

Mr. Solheim said the aspects of the process that gave hope were the clear indications by the President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, that she stood for a negotiated settlement and was ready for peace talks, and the LTTE ceasefire because of which there had been no attacks in southern Sri Lanka since his meeting with Mr. Velupillai Prabhakaran last November.

``The LTTE has also refrained from making the demand that there should be a withdrawal of troops from the Jaffna peninsula as a precondition for talks.'' But, he said, there was lack of trust between the two sides. Plus, the situation on the ground was ``tense, and therefore fragile''.

Norway was working towards building confidence between the two sides, but in the spirit of confidentiality with which Oslo has approached its mission in Sri Lanka, Mr. Solheim refused to say what measures to this end were being discussed. He declined comment on the LTTE's recent renewal of the truce or its threat to terminate it if the Government did not reciprocate, saying the Norwegian duty was to find common ground between the LTTE and the Government, and not to dwell on issues on which there were differences between them.

On the recent military confrontations between the two sides, he said, ``Any developments in the battlefield to us are reasons to speed up the peace process, to reduce future suffering''. Mr. Solheim said he could not make any predictions on when peace talks would commence but said considering the loss of life and property, and the money spent on the war, ``we should do whatever possible to avoid wasting time''.

He clarified that Norway had kept out of the whole issue of the ban on the LTTE in the U.K. and had not given any advice on it to the British Government.

To a question on whether the ban would affect the functioning of Mr. Anton Balasingham, who lives in London and is the chief negotiator for the LTTE: ``I think it is in everybody's interest that Anton Balasingham is able to function somewhere. Mr. Balasingham is an important actor in what we all hope and pray for, a peaceful settlement. It is well-known that he is the chief negotiator of the LTTE, and it is essential that he can function in that capacity.''

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : International
Previous : U.S. keen on expanding ties with India
Next     : Long-term U.S. assistance to Gujarat opposed