The Hindu : Negotiations should continue, PA tells Govt.

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jun 07, 2003

International

International

Negotiations should continue, PA tells Govt.

By V.S. Sambandan

COLOMBO JUNE 6. With Sri Lanka's peace process in serious trouble, the island's main Opposition group, Peoples' Alliance (PA), today hoped that Colombo's negotiations with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) would continue but cautioned that giving the Tigers an interim administration now would be ``a suicidal approach''.

``Any kind of dialogue is not wasted. We are all for dialogue'', the former Foreign Affairs Minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar, told a press conference today. He was responding to a question if the latest efforts since last year's ceasefire were ``wasted''.

``The engagement should continue in one form or the other'', Mr. Kadirgamar said, adding that defining how this could be was a ``matter of nuance''. ``Any kind of dialogue and conversation at such intractable situation is good rather than bad. That is why we, the PA, are for the continuation of dialogue. Disengagement is not a good thing,'' Mr. Kadirgamar, who is currently the senior adviser to the President, said.

Disagreeing with the Government's view that the differences were over ``words and phrases'', Mr. Kadirgamar said the differences between Colombo and the Tigers ``go way beyond that''. Pointing out that the LTTE demand was for a ``politico-administrative'' mechanism, he said ``the contrast is very clear''.

The Opposition critique of the process comes just after the Tigers refused an offer by the Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, to ``clarify'' his proposals for a development-oriented structure for the northeast. The ``softly, softly approach'' adopted by the Prime Minister, he said ``went on well up to a certain point'', but it would not be possible to ``just to keep the Tiger at the table, patting on his head and asking him to wait a few more years when it gets hungry''.

Mr. Kadirgamar identified lack of transparency, among other reasons, for the current stalemate. On the domestic political front, he said the President, Chandrika Kumaratunga, had mooted the idea of a small joint committee to review the progress of the talks, when the United National Front (UNF) commenced the process. Subsequently, she had also proposed including a Presidential nominee at the talks to keep her informed. While these were rejected, the ``totally flawed approach'' he said, was the position adopted by the UNF Government that the ``Opposition has no role to play'' but to extend Parliamentary support.

Not taking up the core issues — particularly the nature of the state to emerge — was also a serious lapse, he said. The Tigers are ``hitting all over the wicket'' he said, referring to the rebels taking on the international and regional players.

The PA's position was made just on the eve of a donors' conference scheduled to be held in Tokyo on Monday, aimed at generating pledges for $3 billions for the reconstruction of Sri Lanka.

``Deeply disturbed and angered'' at the tone adopted by the LTTE chief negotiator, Anton S. Balasingham, in his letter to Mr. Wickremesinghe, he said ``this is not the way to write to an elected Prime Minister of a sovereign country''.

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