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LTTE seeks India's help for talks with Colombo
By D.B.S. Jeyaraj
TORONTO, JAN. 7. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) wants the Government of India to help it conduct direct negotiations aimed at resolving the protracted ethnic conflict with the Sri Lankan Government of the Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, informed Tamil sources in Europe said today.
According to these sources, the LTTE requires Indian assistance in two phases. First, it wants New Delhi to allow its political adviser and chief negotiator, Anton Balasingham, and spouse, Adele Anne, to reside temporarily in Chennai before and during talks with the Sri Lankan Government.
Second, it wants India to extend its good offices further and let the talks facilitated by Norway to be conducted in a South Indian city such as Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram or Bangalore.
The Tigers are also amenable to Indian officials' presence as non-participant observers during discussions with Colombo if and when talks commence in India.
It is reliably learnt that the formal request for the Balasinghams to reside in Chennai would be made initially and the second would be predicated on whether a positive response is obtained first.
If granted, Mr. Balasingham would relocate to Chennai, engage in spadework necessary to set up direct talks and then ask for an Indian venue to conduct direct negotiations.
Informed sources said that the LTTE's thinking on these issues had been conveyed to the mutually-accepted facilitator when a Norwegian delegation led by the Deputy Foreign Minister, Vidar Helgesen, met Mr. Balasingham in London on January 4.
It is expected that Oslo would communicate on the matter with Colombo first and, depending upon the Sri Lankan response, would interact with New Delhi. A Norwegian team is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka on January 10.
Tamil circles explained that it was necessary for Mr. Balasingham to meet the LTTE leader, Velupillai Prabakharan, for a series of confidential meetings before the decks are cleared for direct Govt.-LTTE talks.
The 63-year-old diabetic is recovering from a kidney transplant and requires sensitive medical care unavailable in the Northern mainland of the Vanni where the LTTE hierarchy is based. This prevents him from residing for long in the Vanni. Commuting from London, where he is based now, to the Vanni via Colombo regularly is physically debilitating and also a security risk.
The Tigers feel that Mr. Balasingham could shuttle back and forth from Chennai to the Vanni by helicopter. Likewise, the LTTE does not want its high-powered delegation attending anticipated direct talks to be vulnerable security-wise by travelling through Colombo to a Western city.
The LTTE team will also have to report back regularly to the Vanni and consult the leadership as talks progress. This logistical requirement and Mr. Balasingham's presence in Chennai makes an Indian city more desirable as a venue for talks.
The LTTE is apparently optimistic that its requests would be granted as India has pledged full support for a negotiated peace in Sri Lanka.
The Sri Lankan Government is also not averse to a greater Indian role in the talks.
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