Start dialogue, E.U. tells Colombo, LTTE

By C. Raja Mohan

NEW DELHI, MAY 16. In the first substantive international reaction to the current crisis in Sri Lanka, the European Union has called on Colombo and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to stop fighting and start talking.

The Government is carefully scrutinising the European position on Sri Lanka, but is unlikely to associate itself with the statement issued by the E.U. presidency last night in Brussels.

The statement by Portugal, which currently holds the presidency of the European Union, was issued after intensive consultations among the E.U. partners over the last few days.

The Sri Lankan crisis had figured briefly in the talks here yesterday between the Foreign Secretary, Mr. Lalit Mansingh, and Ambassador Joao Salgueiro, a senior Portuguese official who was leading the EU delegation to India.

Expressing deep concern about the ``increasing intensity of the conflict in Sri Lanka'', the EU has called on ``both parties in this tragic, long-running conflict to cease hostilities and begin negotiations with a view to securing a peaceful resolution of the conflict''.

The EU, however, does not refer to any broad framework of a possible resolution to the Sri Lankan conflict.

Unlike the EU, both India and the U.S. have emphasised the importance of realising the aspirations of the Tamil minority within a united and sovereign Sri Lanka.

The E.U. proposal for an unconditional ceasefire and negotiations, the statement said, had the endorsement of all the European states which are associated with the Union and those that are not.

The E.U. reminded the warring parties in Sri Lanka ``of their responsibility to ensure the safety of the civilian population'' in the Jaffna peninsula.

It also demanded that Colombo ``lift'' the restrictions it has imposed ``on civil liberties and press freedom'' in Sri Lanka.

Europe is also urging both Colombo and the LTTE ``to cooperate with the Norwegian Government in its endeavours to facilitate a negotiated settlement of the conflict''.

A Norwegian envoy, Mr. Erik Solheim, was here last week for consultations with the Government over Oslo's diplomatic initiative to bring Colombo and the LTTE to the negotiating table.

Questions are being raised in the Government on both the timing and relevance of the European statement in the context of the unfolding situation in Sri Lanka.

New Delhi believes the involvement of too many external actors in the crisis would only muddy the waters further.

Diplomatic sources here say Europe is alive to Indian political interests in Sri Lanka and appreciates the delicate diplomatic course it has been following in the island nation.

India and Europe will have diplomatic opportunities in the next few days for a more intensive exchange of views on Sri Lanka and reduce any misperceptions.

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