The Hindu : Crisis in Muslim party may affect Oslo talks

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 02, 2002

International

International

Crisis in Muslim party may affect Oslo talks

By V.S. Sambandan

COLOMBO. DEC. 1. The third round of peace talks between Colombo and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), scheduled to start in Oslo tomorrow, ran into a sudden hitch today with the Muslim factor emerging at the centrestage of Sri Lanka's domestic political scene just a few days ahead of a key constitutional deadline.

After dramatically suspending two dissidents, including a Minister, the Leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), Rauff Hakeem, who was one of Colombo's key negotiators, would return from Oslo without attending the third session of talks, sources said.

The third session of talks is scheduled to end on December 5, coinciding with the lapse of a key constitutional deadline that prevents the President from dissolving Parliament. It may be recalled that the crossover of Mr. Hakeem's SLMC was a key factor in the collapse of the previous administration, headed by the People's Alliance last year.

According to indications from Oslo, the return of Mr. Hakeem is unlikely to affect the larger issues. The Defence Secretary, Austin Fernando, is also in Oslo as an adviser to Colombo's delegation. Earlier today, Mr. Hakeem suspended A.L.M. Athaullah, who is Minister for Highways, and another dissident MP from the party, through letters faxed from Oslo. Later, after consulting the Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, over telephone, Mr. Hakeem decided to return to Colombo to take care of the political crisis, sources said.

This will mean that issues relating to Muslim concerns are unlikely to be taken up at the third session of talks. It was earlier agreed that Mr. Hakeem would represent the Muslim interests in the talks, as and when the issue came up. The SLMC leader had maintained that all issues had a bearing on Muslims.

Mr. Hakeem and Mr. Athaullah have been locked in a running internal battle for the past few months. Though largely an inner-party crisis, this standoff is likely to disperse Muslim opinion on the peace process. Mr. Hakeem preferred to go slow on the earlier Muslim demand for a separate Muslim provincial council, while Mr. Athaullah, who is also the SLMC chairman, took a harder line.

The suspension has added to the domestic political atmospherics as it could make it difficult for the Opposition to lure dissidents. According to Sri Lankan law, an MP who has lost his seat will be replaced by another from the same party.

Hard bargaining ahead

At the Oslo talks, apart from the issues directly involved - the consolidation of the ceasefire agreement and concerns relating to the police stations run by the LTTE in the north and the east - a new subject is the choice of a third party to park the international funds to be raised for reconstruction needs. The talks will also be watched for the manner in which the LTTE makes its moves to gain international legitimacy.

The negotiators will have to agree on a destination where the funds raised internationally for the peace process will be parked.

Current indications are that a U.N. agency could be vested with the responsibility. Colombo and the Tigers had agreed that when the joint subcommittee to address immediate humanitarian needs "ceases to exist'' the unutilised funds would be returned to the donors, thereby tying up the inflow of finances to the progress of the peace process.

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