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Sri Lanka justifies radio equipment import

By V.S. Sambandan

COLOMBO. DEC. 27. The Sri Lankan Government today justified the import of radio broadcasting equipment for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as part of the "positive developments" towards "permanent peace'', and termed the Norwegian "assistance'' as an "important contribution'' to the "peace process''.

In a seven-page statement, the Government today sought to answer the queries posed by the Opposition parties on issues relating to the legality of the import and the role played by Norway.

The LTTE, the Government said, had applied for licence on October 18 and described it as "an important step in the LTTE's transformation into a political grouping within the mainstream of the Sri Lankan political system''.

The statement also reproduced a "specific request by the LTTE'' for licence. Signed by the secretary general of the LTTE's peace secretariat, Puleedevan, the letter had said: "the need for broadcasting services has become all the more important today to strengthen the peace initiatives undertaken by both the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE.''

The Government has interpreted the Tigers' application for licence as "the willingness of the LTTE to submit themselves to the authority of the Government in this manner is a 180 degree change from that which prevailed in the earlier period when the LTTE ran an unauthorised and illegal radio operation termed the Voice of Tigers'' (VoT).

There was a bitter controversy most of this month, with the Opposition attacking Norway's role. What essentially should have been a direct political issue between the Government and the Opposition took an external turn on two fronts. The Opposition's charge against Norway and apprehensions over whether the LTTE's transmissions would reach the Indian shores.

According to the Government's statement, the Norwegian involvement was initiated by it to resolve an impasse over a request by the LTTE for duty-waiver. The Tigers, the Government said, had asked for duty exemption as the import was "for a purpose associated with the peace process''.

However, the Government could not grant the exemption "since no exemptions on duty of VAT were being permitted''. There is no clear explanation as to whether the duty was subsequently paid, or who paid it, but the statement said the Norwegian Government had agreed to finance the setting up of "institutional mechanisms to take forward the peace process'' with an assistance of over "Rs. 12 million as an initial contribution'' for the Secretariat for Co-ordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP), commonly referred to as the Peace Secretariat.

The Government pointed out that the Norwegian contribution to the SCOPP could be "utilised for reimbursement to the Ministry of Finance for any loss of revenue, if required''. Moreover, Norway's role was that of a "consignee'' under the understanding that the "goods would be immediately taken over by the SCOPP'', the statement said.

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