Friday, Feb 22, 2002
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By D.B.S. Jeyaraj
TORONTO, FEB. 21. The Sri Lankan Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam are expected to jointly ratify the memorandum of understanding drafted by Norway to bring about a permanent ceasefire between both parties, informed sources disclosed. A Norwegian peace delegation is expected to arrive in Colombo to facilitate and witness the signing of documents by the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE. The signing of the MOU, however, will not immediately bring the permanent ceasefire into effect as it is stipulated that a ``jointly agreed ceasefire shall enter into force on a date specified as D-Day by the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs''. Diplomatic circles speculated that the ``D-Day'' in question could be February 24 when the parallel ceasefires currently in force are scheduled to lapse. The mutually accepted Norwegian facilitators were trying to harmonise both into a ``structured and stable'' permanent ceasefire without having to extend the unilateral ones further on February 24. Tamil circles close to the LTTE revealed that both the Government and the Tigers had reached an agreement over a new MoU draft formulated freshly by Oslo. A Norwegian delegation led by the Deputy Foreign Minister, Vidar Helgeson, had taken an earlier draft to Colombo on February 7 for comments and suggestions. The document itself had been drafted after several rounds of discussions among Norway, the Lankan Government and the LTTE. While the draft MoU had been approved substantially, certain issues, however, were disputed. This led to the Norwegian facilitators undertaking two further rounds of discussions in London with the LTTE's political adviser and chief negotiator, Anton Balasingham. The final version was meticulously analysed and approved over a three-hour working luncheon from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on February 19. The Norwegian Foreign Ministry's special adviser, Eric Solheim, and the Ministry official, Kjirste Tromsdal, participated in the meeting along with Mr. Balasingham and his Australian-born wife, Adele Anne. The new MOU was faxed subsequently to the LTTE headquarters in Sri Lanka's northern mainland of Vanni and approval obtained from the Tiger leader, Velupillai Prabakaran. Similarly, the MoU was submitted to the Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe's approval through Oslo's Ambassador in Colombo, Jon Westborg. Outstanding issues pertaining to fishing rights of Tamil civilians, the Sri Lankan Navy's right to check suspected LTTE ships and permission for unarmed LTTE cadres to do political work in the Army-controlled areas have been amicably resolved, it is learnt. Circles close to the Government in Colombo said that Mr. Wickremesinghe had decided to ratify the MoU formally tomorrow. The sources said that the Norwegian facilitators would submit the MoU to Sri Lankan President, Chandrika Kumaratunga, for approval. If the President who is commander-in-chief of the armed forces signs the MOU it will be taken to Vanni for LTTE chief, Prabakaran's signature. If, however, Ms. Kumaratunga declines to sign the MoU then it will only have Mr. Wickremesinghe's approval from the Government side. The sources also said that if security considerations permitted, Mr. Wickremesinghe will undertake a historic visit to Vanni and sign the MoU jointly with Mr. Prabakaran. Otherwise the Government endorsement will be in Colombo and the LTTE in Vanni with the intermediary Norway facilitating. The abortive 1995 agreement between Ms. Kumaratunga and Mr. Prabakaran were also signed by both in Colombo and Jaffna respectively. Meanwhile, Mr. Balasingham told a Tamil newspaper in Jaffna that all work on a final MoU draft had been completed and was likely to be signed before February 24. The Sri Lankan Cabinet Minister, G.L. Peiris, said at a press briefing that he was hopeful of the MoU being signed before February 24.
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