'Govt.-LTTE peace talks will continue'

By V.S.Sambandan

COLOMBO, MARCH 12. Sri Lanka's Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister, Prof. G.L.Peiris, has expressed optimism that the Norwegian initiative to initiate direct talks between the Government and the LTTE would continue, despite the recent collapse of the Norwegian Government.

The Minister's observation comes in the backdrop of uncertainty after last week's fall of the Norwegian Government which commenced the process to initiate direct talks between the Government and the Tigers.

Mr. Knut Vollebaek, who was the Foreign Minister in the Norwegian Government which quit office after losing a Parliamentary vote, had met the Sri Lankan President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, and the senior LTTE theoretician, Mr. Anton Balasingham, on two separate occasions in February.

The efforts were seen as a mechanism to bring the two sides to the negotiating table.

Prof. Peiris, a key architect of the Government's proposed Constitutional reforms ,was quoted by the state-run Sunday Observer as saying that ``the collapse of the Norwegian government will not hamper the peace process initiated by Mr. Vollebaek and it would go on as planned.''

The UNP leaders were also of the opinion that there would be no derailment of the process. ``A delay in the process was expected even before the fall of the Norwegian Government, as Mr. Balasingham had to undergo medical treatment,'' a spokesperson said.

Diplomatic sources, requesting anonymity, said that the fall of the Norwegian Government should not be seen as a setback, as no major changes were anticipated in the Norwegian foreign policy.

A Tamil MP, expressed optimism, saying, ``these things happen, but governments would continue to hold the policy lines adopted.''

The fall of the Norwegian Government, for the moment, comes as a dampener to last week's coming together of Ms. Kumaratunga and her arch-rival, Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe, who agreed to hold further talks aimed at evolving a southern consensus on the offer to be made to the Tigers on resolving the conflict.

In addition, last Friday's suicide-bomb explosion and subsequent gun-battles a few kilometres from the Sri Lankan Parliament, which have claimed the lives of 29 persons, including five policemen and eight Tigers, has cast a shadow over the recently- commenced peace initiatives.

While Ms. Kumaratunga, yesterday reiterated her Government's resolve to carry on the peace process, Tamil political leaders have urged the political leadership not to deviate from the peace process as a result of the ``senseless'' incident on Friday.

* * *

Six arrested

The Sri Lankan police have arrested six Tamils here in connection with Friday's aborted attempt to assassinate a senior Minister and are on the lookout for two suicide LTTE rebels believed to have escaped after the night-long intense gun- battle which left 29 dead.

- PTI

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