The Hindu : Balasingham slated to meet Prabakaran on March 2

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Feb 25, 2003

International

International

Balasingham slated to meet Prabakaran on March 2

By V.S. Sambandan

COLOMBO FEB. 24. The chief negotiator for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Anton S. Balasingham, is scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka on March 2 for a meeting with his leader, V. Prabakaran, before the next round of talks to be held in Japan.

Mr. Balasingham's arrival, at the island's only international airport on the outskirts of Colombo, comes at a time when the direct talks between the Government and the LTTE have hit a hurdle on the issue of de-escalation in the Jaffna peninsula, and cracks within the pro-LTTE Tamil parliamentary political parties are starting to show.

The delayed meeting between Mr. Balasingham and Mr. Prabakaran is seen as among the reasons for the last round of talks to be reduced to two days and shifted to the German capital, Berlin, from the earlier venue in Thailand. Mr. Balasingham, a British national, lives in London and suffers from a kidney ailment, while Mr. Prabakaran has confined himself to the rebel-held northern Sri Lanka.

Apart from being categorised the ``prime accused'' and ``proclaimed offender'' by Indian courts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, Mr. Prabakaran has been convicted, in absentia, by Sri Lankan courts for a 100-year jail term for his alleged involvement in the Central Bank bombing.

With Mr. Prabakaran's moves confined, Mr. Balasingham travels to the rebel-held Vanni to discuss the LTTE's position at the negotiations.

For the first time since the talks started last September, the two sides publicly differed on their negotiating positions in January on the subject of the military reducing its forces in the Jaffna peninsula. The issue of de-escalation came centre-stage way back last November, when Mr. Prabakaran referred to it in his annual ``heroes' day'' speech.

The issue, however, did not figure in public in the December talks, which coincided with the date when the President, Chandrika Kumaratunga, became constitutionally empowered to dissolve Parliament. On December 5, the same day from when the constitutional restriction on Ms. Kumaratunga was lifted, the two sides agreed to ``explore federal models'' for a solution within a united Sri Lanka.

However, differences came out in the run-up to the January talks, during which the LTTE announced its pull-out from the crucial sub-committee on de-escalation and normalisation (SDN). International opinion is playing a crucial role in keeping the current peace process going.

The Ranil Wickremesinghe administration, by involving major global players, has effectively internationalised the conflict resolution process. The financial imperatives of the peace process — Sri Lanka's debts amount to 107 per cent of its GDP and the internationally-conscripted LTTE faces a squeeze on its global funds — are currently weighing heavily on the negotiators.

Mr. Balasingham' visit also comes at a time when the island's Tamil politics is showing signs of yet another cracking up. All is not well with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), which came together before the 2001 elections and backed the LTTE as the sole representative of the Tamils at the talks. The latest cause for discontent is the indefinite postponement of the re-opening of the Jaffna Public Library.

While the parliamentary parties were largely in favour of its re-opening, the LTTE reportedly wanted at least a section of it to be maintained as a memorial of the past.

The LTTE, which was against the re-opening, had its way, forcing a climb-down by sections that were not in favour of toeing the LTTE line. This divide, which is now starting to show, is likely to determine the future of the TNA.

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