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Note no. 226
31. 05. 2004
Sri Lanka: Talks get bogged down on Agenda: Update 64
by Dr. S. Chandrasekharan
On May 4, 2004, the Presidential Secretariat announced that "the LTTE is prepared to commence talks with the Government at a time convenient to the government and the Norwegian facilitators " and that the "LTTE has no preconditions attached to the commencement of the talks."
Pre Conditions of LTTE:
It is not clear why the President’s Secretariat made such a statement while everyone knew that the LTTE had placed certain pre conditions for the commencement of the talks..
In view of contradictory statements emanating from the ruling UPFA, the LTTE is seriously considering to get a written agreement on the lines of the earlier cease fire agreement for the commencement of the talks.
The conditions laid down by the LTTE were
1. GOSL should honour the cease-fire agreement without any amendments.
2. The Norwegian government should continue to be the facilitators for the talks.
The above two conditions were made in view of the pre poll position of UPFA- SLFP of. curtailment of the undue influence of Norway. And redrafting of the Cease Fire agreement (CFA) to safe guard the national security interests of Sri Lanka and prevent LTTE from taking advantage.
The above two conditions were made in view of the pre poll position of UPFA- SLFP of. curtailment of the undue influence of Norway. And redrafting of the Cease Fire agreement (CFA) to safe guard the national security interests of Sri Lanka and prevent LTTE from taking advantage.
These conditions were accepted.
3. The LTTE should be accepted as the sole and authentic representative of the Tamil people. President Chandrika has accepted this position though she has a minister of cabinet rank from another Tamil Party, EPDP. It looks that while the President would formally deal with the LTTE in the official talks, she would consult other non LTTE groups who are mainly based in Colombo in the course of the talks.
4.Talks should be on equal terms- that is the LTTE should be treated as equal partners in the peace talks. It is on this basis that the LTTE wanted the venue of talks to be in a neutral country and not in Sri Lanka, though the president was keen to hold the talks in Colombo. Equality is perhaps the reason why the LTTE made no mention of the Sri Lankan government in its interim proposals for the North East.
5. The ISGA should be the basis for negotiation.
It is now clear that the peace talks between Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE is getting bogged down on the agenda- specifically on the proposals given by the LTTE on the establishment of an Interim Self Governing Authority ( ISGA) for the North East. The Norwegian facilitators have been shuttling between Colombo and Killinochi to hammer out an agreement and so far have failed.
LTTE’s Position:
The LTTE’s position on the discussion to commence on the implementation of the ISGA and not on the final solution of the conflict itself is based on the following perception.
1. No purpose is served in discussing substantive issues with a minority government.
One of the major considerations of Chandrika in ordering parliamentary elections was to get a simple majority so that the newly elected parliament could be converted into a constituent assembly to push for a change from the Presidential form of government. But the way the opposition party’s candidate W.J.M. Lokubandara was elected as Speaker after a bitter and an unseemly fight dashed all hopes of forming a constituent assembly. Professor Hettige has rightly said that the "ruling party has responsibility without the power and the opposition has power without responsibility!"
In such a situation how could a serious issue like that of a constitutional amendment be pushed through?
LTTE is also aware that a final resolution of the conflict, in keeping with the aspirations of the Tamils cannot be resolved within the parameters of the existing Constitution. The entrenched provisions of the constitution would need to be amended and this can be done only if the current constitution is amended or the majority Sinhala opinion concedes some space for the final solution. Both do not appear possible in the near future. Hence the interim proposals for the administration of the North East. It is not clear yet, whether the interim proposal would itself need a constitutional amendment.
2. A proper climate does not exist for a final solution. According to the LTTE, restoring normalcy in the North East for the internally displaced people is the first priority. Settling of IDPs ( Internally displaced persons) cannot wait indefinitely till a final political solution for the Tamil national question is reached. This would take a long time. The delay in establishing ISGA quickly would amount to denial of fundamental rights of displaced people.
There is some weight in this reasoning
Firstly,. as Sampanthan has pointed out. a political solution for the Tamil question has been elusive for the last fifty years and may take time. Let the process of finding a final solution take its normal course. The ISGA need not be delayed.
Secondly, the Donor countries who have pledged more than 4.5 billion dollars in the Hakone declaration have said that international assistance is contingent on the progress in peace talks. The LTTE’s contention is that peace talks on substantive issues may take a long time and that the three R’s namely reconciliation, reconstruction and rehabilitation cannot wait for the final solution and that ISGA would be the best alternative to make progress towards socio-economic rehabilitation of North East.
3. 90 percent of the Tamils in the North East have endorsed the stand taken by the LTTE in the last elections and given a mandate for negotiations on the concepts in the principles based on ISGA.
The LTTE has assumed that the people in the North East have given an overwhelming mandate for the ISGA proposals by electing twenty two TNA members to the parliament. If and when the talks resume on the ISGA proposals, the LTTE may not accept any whittling down of the proposals.
On ISGA, we had made a detailed examination of the proposals in update 52, We had said that the proposals seek parity in all aspects with that of Government of Sri Lanka with no formal, legal or an institutional role for the GOSL in the administration of the North East.
From LTTE’s point of view, it looks that if the ISGA is accepted in its present form with no major changes, it would then form the basis for the final resolution of the conflict. The election result is seen by them as an endorsement of the Tamils of the North East of the ISGA proposals. ISGA was drafted after extensive discussion with constitutional, legal experts and the Tamil diaspora and certainly they would all be consulted on every aspect of the proposal along with the members of the TNA who have been elected with open support of the LTTE.
The TNA would in our view be more assertive and would put up the LTTE’s case more forcefully in the discussions that would follow both inside and outside the parliament. See the statement of R.Sampanthan of TNA on the talks.
"We are militarily and politically strong that no Sri Lankan Government will be able to deceive LTTE or TNA with cosmetic gesture or be engaged in disingenuous peace talks. Our future attitude towards having a constructive dialogue with S.L.Government depends on its next move towards the peace process.
Why not discuss the ISGA proposals first?
It is not clear why President Chandrika is reluctant to commence talks on the ISGA proposals. It is better to catch the bull by its horns and discuss it threadbare. Discussions with the LTTE would certainly reveal what the LTTE has in mind towards a final solution. Some of the points that need to be kept in mind are:
* A final solution will have only more and not less than what would be conceded in the ISGA proposals. The ISGA has many things in common with what the President had suggested in her own proposals years earlier and in the thirteenth amendment.
* The LTTE has become more confident now than before for two reasons. a. A major rebellion by Karuna has been put down with ease b. consolidation of the Tamil opinion in electing an unprecedented number ( more than what TULF had after Vattukottai resolution) under the banner of TNA with open support from LTTE.
* Possession of a large swathe of land under complete control by LTTE with its own system of administration, judiciary, penal laws and procedures, taxes and duties with their own banks etc. This is unlikely to be given up in any interim solution.
Progress could be made in the talks, so that at least the funds allotted for the entire region both for the North East and the rest of the country could start flowing.
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