EDITORIAL

Breaking Ground

The Thailand talks are a watershed for Sri Lanka

This has been a historic week for Sri Lanka. Not only did the Liberation Tigers and the Sri Lankan government meet for the first direct peace talks in over seven years, the three days of intense discussions in Sittahip, Thailand, passed without acrimony and resulted in agreement between both sides on a range of issues. The sense of optimism which had prevailed amongst the peoples of Sri Lanka before the talks began was, in hindsight, completely justified. The confidence in the future of the Norwegian facilitated peace process expressed after the talks by the Chief Negotiators of both sides is testament to the progress achieved. Three more rounds of talks have been scheduled already - even though the ground breaking first round was only announced a few weeks ago. Of course, this week's dialogue in the public sphere comes after several earlier discreet meetings between Sri Lankan ministers and LTTE officials, both in the Vanni and London. Nevertheless, the talks in Sittahip are an important watershed in the course of Sri Lanka's protracted conflict.

From a Tamil perspective, the talks in Thailand represent the irrevocable internationalisation of the Tamil question. Firstly, former Sri Lankan governments' portrayal of the island's ethnic conflict as merely a narrow phenomenon of terrorism devoid of genuine political basis is no longer tenable. The strong and multifaceted international involvement in the Sri Lankan peace process - along with the chorus of approval this week from several governments across the globe - underlines the elevation of the Tamil question to new standing in international affairs. Secondly, the talks underline the recognition - foremost by the present Sri Lankan government - of the Liberation Tigers as the sole and authentic representatives of the Tamil people.

The Norwegian peace process is not intended to only deal with the relatively minor - when it comes to conflict resolution -issues of ceasefire and de-escalation, but also with that of the civil administration of the Tamil homeland and, in the course of time, Tamil political rights. The LTTE is acknowledged as the expected Tamil representative at discussions - effectively to be held on the world stage - on these matters.

Another key success of the talks this week is the emergence of a new rhetoric and approach by both sides: 'partnership in peace'. The establishment of a Joint Committee, to oversee ceasefire related issues, and the Joint Task Force, for humanitarian and reconstruction activities, are a step forward from the tentative collaborative aspects inherent in the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission. Whilst the tactical objective of these joint structures is to de-escalate the conflict and accelerate the restoration of normalcy, the willingness of both sides to engage in such bi-partisan efforts reflects the growing trust between them. Most importantly - and particularly in the wake of the Sri Lanka's recent deproscription of the LTTE - these associations also reflect the deepening recognition of the Liberation Tigers as a credible and important political formation. As such, the opponents of peace in the Sinhala south can be expected to continue to decry the Norwegian peace process and vociferously condemn these collaborative efforts.

But with regards the immediate future, both protagonists in the ethnic conflict and the Norwegian facilitators are agreed that the most urgent need of the day is a tangible peace dividend for the peoples of Sri Lanka - and in particular the residents of the north and east where the war has been waged for two decades. All three parties this week called urgently for international community's generous support for a rapid and targeted program of reconstruction and rehabilitation. With up to a million people displaced from their homes and much of the infrastructure of the north - where high intensity conflict has raged for almost a decade - destroyed, the impact of any rehabilitation work would be immediate and significant. The Sri Lankan Chief Negotiator, Prof. G. L. Peiris expressed optimism the international community would respond positively. Certainly the negotiations in Thailand ought to provide the necessary reassurances. But it must be kept in mind that reconstruction and rehabilitation in a region that has seen sustained war for almost two decades is not merely about new bricks and mortar, but also the nurturing of the local economy and undertaking of longer term projects to reconstitute a shattered community. It is beholden on the international community to work closely with Liberation Tigers and the Sri Lankan government to assist this restoration of normalcy.

On the other hand, amid the euphoria that followed the talks in Thailand, it should not be forgotten that powerful forces in the Sinhala south still oppose the Norwegian peace initiative. President Chandrika Kumaratunga last Friday - and again this week - launched a vitriolic broadside against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's peace moves. In the time honoured Sinhala chauvinist tradition of stirring up apprehensions and anxiety amongst the populace, Kumaratunga warned the Premier, in a public letter, of impending danger from the LTTE. But whilst the President's executive powers continue to pose a latent threat to the United National Front government - and by extension, the peace process - amid the international excitement over the talks with the LTTE, Kumaratunga's histrionics this week struck a note of absurdity and irrelevancy. But with the peace process continuing to be a fault line for political animosity in the south, and the legislation to curb the President's powers yet to reach Parliament, it remains to be seen whether the UNF cabinet will secure the political leeway it needs to pursue the Norwegian peace process. But the mood amongst the peoples of the island this week should endow the UNF with the resolution to take the requisite steps.

Ironically, the substantial progress made in terms of formal plans to rapidly bring tangible benefits of the peace process to the residents of the war-torn north and east was ignored by most of the press, in preference for what they mistakenly considered a radical policy change by the LTTE with regards to the objective of the Tamil freedom struggle. When the LTTE Chief Negotiator, Mr. Anton Balasingham stated that the Tamil people were not seeking a separate state per se, but pursuing their inalienable right to self-determination, many observers assumed - quite incorrectly - that the LTTE was renouncing the Tamil people's right to secession. Predictably, a plethora of sensational headlines followed. But in fact, Mr. Balasingham was merely reiterating the movement's long held position on this core aspect of the Tamil question.

Even as recently as June this year, in an interview to this newspaper, Mr. Balasingham stated: "We hold the view that the Tamils have the right to both internal and external aspects of self-determination. The Tamils would examine a proposal for a fully autonomous Tamil homeland with a system of self-government in recognition of their inalienable right to internal self-determination. But if Sri Lanka denies the right to right to internal self determination and continues to subject the Tamils to genocidal oppression, they will certainly attempt to realise it externally by struggling for secession, political independence and statehood." He repeated as much in Thailand this week.

That lazy journalism and ideological antipathy to the LTTE has hitherto prevented the flexibility of the movement's position on the issue of Tamil political independence from being adequately represented in the media is partly to blame for the resultant confusion this week. Nevertheless, the focus on the LTTE's 'new' position has given due exposure to the movement's oft stated readiness to consider alternatives to a separate state - and thereby deprived its detractors of one of their cherished rods: the LTTE, it seems, is not ideologically intransigent, after all. This fallacy - and deliberate obfuscation on the fundamentals of the Tamil question - was part of Sri Lanka's rational to the international community for waging a brutal military campaign in the Tamil areas. In the wake of the talks in Thailand, the question for the LTTE's detractors is: Now what?