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SRI LANKA WATCH

TIGERS TO PROCEED WITH A UDI?

by Ravana

Will the LTTE proceed with the idea of a UDI (Unilateral Declaration of Independence) as prophesied by the Eelam lobbyists of the past?
This is the question being currently asked in diplomatic circles after the breakdown of the Oslo talks.
Who is to be blamed for this misdemeanour- is it the government of Sri Lanka or the LTTE?
A careful and a serious analysis of the events leading to the failure of the talks will reveal that it is indeed the LTTE that contributed mainly towards the breakdown of the Oslo talks. It was a meticulously designed manoeuvre by the LTTE, perhaps with the connivance of the Norwegian facilitators.
In the mind of the moderate-thinking Sri Lankan, there is definite doubt over the sincerity of the Norwegian facilitators.
The incidents that took place since the aborted attempt to destroy a vessel carrying unarmed soldiers and SLMM monitors, came to a point of culmination with the breakdown of the Oslo talks.
Is there any hope of revival? Is there a fresh bid to salvage the peace process from the doldrums? These are the pressing issues that should be given serious thought.
A UDI by the LTTE could trigger off a war situation not necessarily by the Sri Lankan government but by the party that declares the UDI itself, the LTTE.
The pertinent question that arises out of this latest scenario is for whom is the LTTE trying to create a self-governing authority?
Is it for the people living within the parameters of the so called Eelam, as they claim?
It is important to consider the following facts in this context; firstly the population in the territory of ‘Eelam’. The population is nearly 600,000.
Then we have to take into consideration the number of Tamils living outside the territory of ‘Eelam’. This number is nearly 500,000.
Thirdly, the Tamil population living outside Sri Lanka should be considered. This figure is nearly 1 million. The truth is that the Tamil population in the country has fallen below that of the Muslim population since there is a large expatriate population in the West.
The other important factor is the claim made by the LTTE that they are in control of at least 70% of the north and the east.
It is a fact that they are in full control of two districts, namely Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi. In several other districts, there are certain areas where there is a marked LTTE presence. They are Trincomalee, Mannar, Batticaloa, Vavuniya and Jaffna.
Given this situation, declaring UDI would not mean anything to the Tamil people.
In such a scenario should the government abandon the peace process? Rather, the government should strengthen its commitment to peace and concentrate on the possibilities of getting the LTTE back to the negotiating table.
Under the present circumstances, it appears that the government needs to implement confidence-building measures to bring the LTTE back into the peace process.
The main obstacle appears to be lack of conviction on the part of the government as to what sort of solution would be plausible for a vexing problem of this nature.
The government is harping on a Sri Lankan model with maximum devolution, forgetting that the previous government put in lot of hard work to persuade the LTTE to agree to a federal solution.
President Rajapakse wants to start afresh stating that his is a new government. If he does not believe in continuing something from where it was stopped, he will tend to protract the process bringing misery upon the people.
All this is because he is caught up in a web woven by his constituent partners, the JVP and the JHU.
At present, the government appears to be studying the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution under which the provincial councils were created as a basis for a negotiated settlement.
They are keen to improve on it without labelling it unitary or federal but the main question facing the government is whether the LTTE would accept such a solution without a clear classification.
It should also be borne in mind that the Thirteenth Amendment drafted by the J.R.Jayewardene government with the support of the Rajiv Gandhi administration of India, was later rejected by the LTTE as a non-workable piece of legislation which failed to address the needs of the Tamil people.
Be that as it may, the fiasco in Oslo has now spilled over to Sri Lanka. The Kebithigollawe incident where 64 people were killed on Thursday including 15 children mostly Sinhalese, is a manifestation of the LTTE’s wrath on the government.
Here is clear evidence for the SLMM and other international organisations to judge the mindset of the LTTE if they haven’t had any experience of LTTE atrocities so far.
At least the SLMM must now realise that the violations of the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) by the government troops are negligible compared to that of the violations perpetrated by the LTTE.
This is what Peace Secretariat Chief, Dr. Palitha Kohona told Minister Erik Solheim when the latter tried to apportion the blame on both sides for the failure to come to the negotiating table last week.
Kohona told Solheim: “If you have to blame the LTTE, blame them squarely for their failure to adhere to the norms.” He said that Solheim should not grab some excuse to blame the Sri Lankan government at the same time, just to balance things.
He spoke for over 20 minutes outlining Sri Lanka’s case to which Solheim listened attentively.
What is more exciting is the series of events that took place after the Sri Lankan delegation arrived in the country.
A government document that gave details of a plan as to how the LTTE delegation should be treated when they arrive in Katunayake was accidentally received by the Norwegian mission in Colombo.
This apparently sent shock waves in Oslo when they found out that the Sri Lankan government was planning to send the LTTE delegation by road when they arrived in Colombo.
The communication said the government may consider ferrying them in a Sri Lanka Air Force helicopter up to Vavuniya or Omanthai, which means the delegation would be forced to cover a long distance by road.
This rang alarm bells not only at the Norwegian mission in Colombo but in Oslo too. Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, who was on an official visit to Norway, came under heavy pressure from the Oslo government to reconsider this decision.
Samaraweera had to call Colombo on several occasions to reassure Oslo that nothing of that sort had been planned by the government.
Then what could be the inter-departmental document that passed through the Defence Ministry and the Peace Secretariat?
It was perhaps a deliberate leak to the Norwegian mission here to express the government’s displeasure over the diplomatic faux pas in Oslo.
The LTTE too was worried when they heard about Colombo’s decision to send the LTTE by road. However, the responsibility of their safety was a matter for the Norwegian facilitators to take up with the government.
Peace Secretariat Chief Palitha Kohona, also had a busy time here in Colombo as the papers leaked out. His phone rang endlessly asking for clarifications on the matter.
The final assurance was that the government would not go back on its word. That ended a whole night of panic in Oslo and the LTTE delegation arrived at Dubai via Zurich before they arrived in Colombo.
When the LTTE delegation arrived in Colombo on the EK 550 flight on Wednesday morning at the Bandaranaike International Airport, the security was on alert and the LTTE delegation was asked to go through the normal channels.
This was quite contrary to what they expected. During their outbound flight they were accorded VVIP treatment by the government when they were driven straight to the tarmac from the Airport Garden Hotel where they took a respite after the helicopter tour from Kilinochchi.
At the customs on their return, although various queries by the officials irked them a bit, on the whole they were treated well. However, certain items including catalogues on various sophisticated weapons, pistol holsters and range finders which were in their possession were confiscated under the normal Sri Lankan law.
Brigadier Piyal Abeysekera, who is stationed at the BIA, apprised the government’s top brass in Colombo as to what was going on at the airport.
Amidst all this, the government sent a one-page diplomatic note to the Norwegian facilitators as a response to the questionnaire posed by the facilitators to the government and the LTTE.
The government said that they were well within the CFA and it was not necessary to assert this position over and over again, but it has taken exception to the second question that both the government and the LTTE should grant diplomatic immunity to the SLMM.
In its reply the government said that in accordance with international law and practice, only a sovereign nation could grant diplomatic immunity and not a terrorist organisation such as the LTTE.
The government feels that it is not proper for Norwegian facilitators ask for diplomatic immunity from a terrorist outfit.
It was also noted that diplomatic circles too were bemused by this notion.
In this backdrop, the Sri Lankan government felt that it was necessary to remind the government of Norway that besides the peace process, there exists between the two sovereign nations, a bond of friendship which has been further strengthened through a diplomatic relationship.
The tour undertaken by Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, is to accomplish this requirement. The government’s position is that Norway tends to confuse their involvement with the peace process with that of a normal diplomatic relationship.
Meanwhile, it is learnt that the government is under pressure from the European Union to improve its human rights record. It appears that the EU is not ready to buy the government’s story on the Karuna faction - that they operate independently in the north and the east.
The EU has emphasised that as a government, the responsibilities are greater and that it should take immediate steps to arrest the ever-deteriorating human rights situation in the country. Unresolved crimes and deaths have baffled all and demands immediate investigation before the situation gets out of control.

THE NATION, 18.6.2006