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Sri Lanka govt upbeat on peace after Tamil speech

By Lindsay Beck

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka welcomed on Thursday comments from the leader of the Tamil Tigers that the rebels would settle for regional autonomy, raising hopes for a negotiated end to nearly 20 years of separatist conflict.

The government’s top peace negotiator said the comments from Velupillai Prabhakaran, the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), marked a “paradigm shift” for the rebels, who wanted a separate state for minority Tamils in the north and east.

“They are now shifting from a demand for a separate state to a demand for substantial devolution within one country,” cabinet minister G.L. Peiris told a regular news conference.

“That is the most important change reflected in the LTTE’s response, which is the basis for hope and expectation for a negotiated settlement in the future,” he said.

The government and Tigers signed a Norwegian-brokered truce in February and have been meeting regularly for direct talks to end the conflict that has killed more than 64,000 people.

Peiris played down Prabhakaran’s statement that the rebels — infamous for their disciplined fighting force and ruthless suicide squads — would pursue secession if their demands for self-rule were not met.

“That is a hypothetical situation. We are confident the peace process will not break down. Our positions are not incompatible and there is no reason to anticipate a failure of the peace process,” he said.

Peiris’s views were echoed by a Colombo resident.

“I think given the uncertainty of the political establishment in Colombo, Prabhakaran feels the need to have at least a subtle drumming of war,” said Mohandas Thangarajah, an executive at a garments company.

The government, which has only a slim majority in parliament, faces the thorny question of opposition reaction to a political settlement.

A devolution of power to the north and east would need constitutional changes, which require assent of the president, who is elected separately and belongs to a rival political party.

“We fail to see (in Prabhakaran’s speech) where there is a renunciation of violence and an acceptance of democracy or rights for minorities in the north and east,” presidential spokesman Harim Peiris told Reuters.

“It is disingenuous to say you’re rejecting a separate state then define the key ingredients of a separate state,” he said.

While the government and Tigers agree a form of regional autonomy will be the basis for negotiations, minister Peiris did not give specifics on the government’s vision for such an arrangement.

“Our concepts of self-rule do not match,” he said. “If they did we would not need to have these discussions.”

South Africa has offered to host a future round of talks between the government and LTTE, and Peiris said its experience moving from apartheid to democratic rule was a model Sri Lanka could draw on.

The two sides meet in Norway’s capital Oslo for four days from Monday for a third round of talks. —Reuters

International venues offered for peace talks

COLOMBO: Peace talks between the Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tiger rebels could move around the world with Japan and South Africa hoping to host further meetings, officials said on Thursday.

The two sides entered into a Norwegian-brokered ceasefire in February and have held two rounds of peace talks in Thailand.

The Thai government was unable to host the third round due to festivities connected with the birthday of the king, so they will take place next week in Oslo.

On Monday an international conference which pledged some 60 million to 70 million dollars to help rebuild war-torn areas of Sri Lanka was also held in Oslo.

Sri Lankan government spokesman G.L. Peiris said further talks and aid conferences would be held in Japan and possibly South Africa.

“The Japanese government will host the talks in March which will lead to a pledging conference on international donor assistance in May,” said Peiris, who is also constitutional affairs minister and top government negotiator at the talks with rebels said.

The Tokyo talks are to take place between March 18 and 21.

Peiris said South Africa had also offered to host talks although no dates have yet been fixed.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had been fighting to set up a separate homeland for the minority Tamil community in the north and east of the country. The three-decade old conflict has cost more than 60,000 lives. —AFP

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