International
TULF leader hails peace initiatives
By Nirupama Subramanian
COLOMBO, JAN. 6. The veteran Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) politician, M. Sivasithamparam, who returned to Sri Lanka on Saturday from Chennai after a gap of three years, welcomed the steps taken by the Wickremesinghe Government for the peace process and appealed for an early start to negotiations with the LTTE.
``The Prime Minister has taken some steps and we hope he will continue to do so. But I do not want him to postpone talking to the LTTE because the longer you delay, the more difficult it will become to resolve the issues. All sorts of forces will move in,'' he told The Hindu.
The 76-year-old leader has come back to take up the Parliament seat to which he was nominated by his party. The TULF's performance in the recent election entitled it to one nominated member.
Mr. Sivasithamparam said he had recovered from a diabetic condition for the treatment of which he was taken to Chennai in 1998 and his only health problem now is a difficulty in walking.
He said his supporters urged him to return and take up the seat as he was one of the oldest living members of the party who had been in the struggle for Tamil rights from its inception. ``They felt I would have a contribution to make at this juncture,'' he said.
Mr. Sivasithamparam said his party would do ``our best'' to press the Government to talk to the LTTE and to it alone for a resolution of the conflict and to avail itself of facilitation by Norway.
``India too can play a part, though we cannot say what that should be,'' he said.
Mr. Sivasithamparam appealed to the President, Chandrika Kumaratunga, ``not to play politics'' and to cooperate with the new Government in finding a solution to the aspirations of the Tamils.
He said he was ``very disappointed'' that Ms. Kumaratunga had not lived up to her initial promise, particularly her survival pact with the radical nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) in the last days of the People's Alliance (PA) Government, and the sidelining of Mr. G.L. Peiris, who he described as ``one of the most politically conscious and active persons'' in her Cabinet.
``We did have some hope in her, but we have lost all that hope. And I share some of the disappointment and anger with the rest of the Tamil community,'' he said.
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