rediff.com: Sri Lanka offers devolution, but rules out Tamil nation

Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on Monday began direct talks aimed at resolving decades of ethnic conflict in the island nation with the Sri Lankan delegation offering 'ample degree of devolution', but ruling out a separate nation for the Tamils.

The Norway-brokered three-day peace talks, the first serious attempt in 17 years after the India-sponsored parleys in Thimpu [Bhutan], is being held at Sattahip naval base, 260 kms southeast of Bangkok near the beach resort of Pattaya.

In the morning a short inaugural ceremony attended by diplomats was held in a hotel in Pattaya town where the leader of the Sri Lankan delegation, Constitutional Affairs Minister G L Peiris, said, "We stand for an ample degree of devolution... [but] we are for unity and territorial integrity of the state."

He said though 'no quick-fix is feasible' in resolving the issue, the government looked forward to its peaceful settlement.

LTTE chief negotiator London-based Anton Balasingham in his speech said, "The task of building a permanent peace and reaching a final settlement to the ethnic conflict may be difficult, challenging and time consuming."

"We are confident that with the able assistance of the Norwegian facilitators there is a possibility for the peace process to succeed," he said.

Norwegian negotiator Eric Solheim, who has been trying to broker peace for over two years, told the gathering that the ceremony was a celebration of the decision by the two sides to launch the first of what would be many rounds of talks.

He lightened the atmosphere by calling Peiris with his initials 'G L' and introducing Balasingham by his nickname 'Bala'. The two delegations with four members each, including Balasingham's Australian wife, Adele, shook hands and posed for photographs.

Balasingham said the LTTE was optimistic that the peace talks would succeed as both the LTTE chief Vilupillai Prabhakaran and Lankan Premier Ranil Wickramasinghe had a 'genuine will and firm determination' to resolve the conflict through the process of dialogue.

The rebel ideologue said the situation in Sri Lanka had radically changed since the Wickremesinghe government came to power in December.

He said the ceasefire arranged by peacebroker Norway was holding without any serious violations and that normalcy was slowly returning to the northern and eastern provinces of the island.

The Tigers hoped that the international community would finance a major reconstruction and rehabilitation effort in the island's war-battered north, he said.

"As far as the LTTE are concerned, I can assure you that we are seriously and sincerely committed to peace and that we will strive our utmost to ensure the success of the negotiations," Balasingham said.

The other members of the LTTE side are Dr Jey Maheswaran, development and rehabilitation expert, and V Rudrakumar, a lawyer.

The Sri Lankan team consists of Economic Reforms Minister Milinda Moragoda, Muslim Religious Affairs Minister Rauff Hakeem and Director General of Peace Secretariat Bernard Gunatilleke.

Balasingham declared that the LTTE is the legitimate and authentic representative of the Tamil people, adding the Tigers should play a leading and pivotal role in administration as well as economic development of Sri lanka's northeast. He said the people expected a 'peace dividend'.

The LTTE chief said the economic embargo imposed on the Tamil people for the last one decade has had a devastating effect on their social and economic life.

The people require immediate relief to resolve their urgent, existential problems, he declared adding that the 'economic strangulation subjected our people to extreme poverty and severe deprivation'.

Balasingham said the Tamils appreciated the Sri Lankan government's desire to transform the island into a successful economy.

"Such an aspiration can best be realised by embracing the Tamil Tigers as their equal partners in the task of economic reconstruction of the country... the LTTE is the legitimate and authentic representative of the Tamil people," he said.


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