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By V.S. Sambandan
It was a day marked by efforts aimed at wooing the Tigers, but without yielding. Colombo, which appeared to be in no hurry to meet the core rebel demands, was equally keen on sending the message that direct talks were the forum to sort out differences. The official tone was soft, explanatory and persuasive. Letters by the Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, and the top official of the Government's Peace Secretariat, made this point in slightly different tones. As the wrangle continued, the core demands behind the LTTE's unilateral suspension of talks on Monday were sidestepped, with the Government making the point that it was not yielding yet. Two key rebel demands are the relocation of the Sri Lankan Army from the northern High Security Zones and the recognition of the Sea Tigers as a de-facto naval unit. While the Government highlighted the progress of implementing a January decision to pull the Army out of two hotels in Jaffna, no mention was made of the northern HSZs, especially around the Palaly airbase and the Kankesanthurai port. Mr. Wickremesinghe, in his reply to the LTTE's chief negotiator, Anton S. Balasingham, hoped the Tigers would "review" the "present stance". Pointing out that "positive developments" were made during the peace talks, "albeit not at the pace which we might have desired", he called for the continuation of the "partnership". The Norwegian Ambassador in Colombo, Hans Bratskar, and the former envoy, Jon Westborg, air-dashed to rebel-held Kilinochchi with the Prime Minister's five-page reply. The chief of the Government's peace secretariat, Bernard Goonatilleke, adopted a firmer tone in his two-page letter to the LTTE's political wing leader, S.P. Tamilchelvam, who had called off a meeting of a sub-committee on immediate humanitarian needs (SIHRN). Making it clear that the Government was not behind the delays, he said, "you would appreciate the fact that a number of projects would have been approved by the SIRHN if the meeting took place as scheduled". Without giving in to pressure tactics, Colombo remains confident that the planned Tokyo donors' conference will be a "resounding success". Dismissing questions whether the Government would go ahead with the conference without the LTTE's participation as "an improbable development" and "negative speculation", Colombo's chief negotiator, G.L. Peiris, said it was their wish that the Tigers "should be present" in Tokyo. The Government "is going ahead with detailed preparation" and "there is every reason to expect no changes in the conference". On the possible resumption of talks, Prof. Peiris sounded confident enough to say: "The deadlock has been broken. The logjam is no longer there. The outlook for the future is positive." However, though communication between Colombo and the Tigers has been restored through Norwegian facilitation, the issues raised by the LTTE remain largely unaddressed.
Balasingham, Akashi to visit Sri Lanka
In continued international efforts to put the talks back on track, the Japanese special envoy, Yasushi Akashi, the LTTE's chief negotiator, Mr. Balasingham, and the Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister, Vidar Helgessen, are expected in Sri Lanka on Saturday to talk to the rebel leadership.
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