Monday, Apr 22, 2002
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By Nirupama Subramanian
Ms. Kumaratunga, who will be accompanied by the former Foreign Minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar, is also scheduled to have informal meetings with the President, the Prime Minister, the Minister of External Affairs and the Leader of the Opposition. Though the President's office refused to speculate on the subject of her discussions with the Indian leaders, it appears that Ms. Kumaratunga will brief them about the ongoing Norwegian-facilitated peace process. Ms. Kumaratunga, who is in a tense co-habitation with the opposing United National Front Government, has reiterated her commitment to the peace process but has also expressed concern over the concessions being made to the LTTE without getting any in return. She has been vocal about the need to get guarantees from the Tigers on safeguarding human rights in north-east Sri Lanka and has asked the Government to bargain hard on the issue before giving in to the group's demand for lifting the ban on it before peace talks in Thailand. Ms. Kumaratunga has also said that the proposal to set up an LTTE-controlled interim administration should be linked to a timeframe for talks on a permanent political solution. She has stressed that the interim set-up should be democratic and reflect the pluralism of the north-east which is home to one-third of Sri Lankan Muslims and a significant number of Sinhalese. Though Ms. Kumaratunga's visit was finalised as early as January, it is taking place against the backdrop of a re-awakened interest in New Delhi in the fast-moving peace process and the security implications for India if the LTTE is given control over the north-east, as it is now proposed. Mid-June is when Sri Lanka and the LTTE are likely to begin talking face to face for the first time since 1995. They are to discuss an interim administration for the north-east expected to be run by the Tigers. In the Sri Lankan establishment, a scare has gone up that an antipathy to the LTTE might unite Ms. Kumaratunga and New Delhi in a common cause to undermine the peace process. While India has all along expressed support to the Norwegian-facilitated initiative, the Sri Lankan Government has been concerned that demands from the Indian leaders for the extradition of the LTTE chief, V. Prabakaran, could upset the delicately-poised process. The Sri Lankan Premier, Ranil Wickremesinghe, is likely to visit New Delhi in the first week of June to brief his Indian counterpart, Atal Behari Vajpayee, ahead of the peace talks. He might also meet the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa. More immediately, Mr. Wickremesinghe is dispatching one of the two Cabinet members tasked with day-to-day supervision of the peace process — the Constitutional Affairs Minister, G.L. Peiris — to New Delhi at the same time as the President, but separately, to brief the Indian leaders and officials about the unfolding events here. Last week, the other Cabinet member in charge of the peace process, the Economic Reforms Minister, Milinda Moragoda, was in Delhi and had briefed the National Security Adviser, Brajesh Mishra.
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