Norway hails Jaswant initiative

By C. Raja Mohan

NEW DELHI, JUNE 14. Emphasising the importance of India's role in Sri Lanka, Norway has welcomed the recent diplomatic initiative taken by the External Affairs Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh.

The Norwegian special envoy on Sri Lankan affairs, Mr. Erik Solheim, told The Hindu today that Oslo ``is pleased with India's move to engage'' the political establishment in Colombo.

In a telephonic conversation from Oslo, Mr. Solheim said he ``is in continual contact'' with the Indian Government and sees Mr. Singh's visit in ``absolutely positive terms''.

As part of his effort to facilitate a peace process, Mr. Solheim stays in close touch with both the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the Government in Colombo and the Opposition parties.

He has kept India informed of his diplomatic endeavours and New Delhi has supported the Norwegian initiative. The Indian and Norwegian tracks are being seen here as complementary.

Diplomatic sources closely monitoring the situation in Sri Lanka see Mr. Singh's visit as an important move, but are not entirely convinced that it could lead to an early cessation of the hostilities between Colombo and the LTTE.

Colombo has indicated that it may be ready for an unconditional ceasefire that is linked to negotiations aimed at finding a lasting solution within a reasonable time-frame.

But the LTTE, which has offered conditional ceasefire proposals in the recent weeks, may not yet want to end hostilities and begin talks.

The LTTE, the speculation goes, may want to start talking only after recapturing Jaffna, an objective that has eluded it till now.

Analysts, however, caution that the present military ``stalemate'' in the Jaffna peninsula need not necessarily remain ``a stable one''. Without a greater clarity in the ground realities and a ``stable stalemate'', negotiations between the warring parties are unlikely to begin soon.

Observers believe that both sides may be preparing for fresh offensives in the coming days. So long as there is hope for further military gains, they might not want to opt for an early cessation of hostilities.

There is also considerable scepticism of the LTTE's interest in any package of devolution. Observers say it could be looking for rifts within the Sinhalese establishment that might preclude a broad agreement on a devolution package.

One of Mr.Singh's major objectives in Colombo was to try and catalyse a Sinhalese consensus on a substantive package of political devolution which could meet the political aspirations of the Tamil minority within a united Sri Lanka.

Mr. Solheim would not confirm his current travel plans to India and Sri Lanka. Diplomatic sources, however, suggest it is entirely possible that the envoy will decide to come to the region in the next few weeks.

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