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Counter proposal - Is thy name procrastination? - Editorial from Uthayan Daily - 19.08.2004

"ISGA is the realistic beginning and the basis one could think of in the stalled peace process. Tigers are not going to accept, and one cannot expect them to do so the so-called 'counter' proposals, said to be in the making by the government. The Tamil people think and rightly so, that the government is procrastinating under the guise of a counter proposal. Instead of a counter proposal which will delay the process, the government can put on the negotiating table what it thinks is acceptable to the Tamil people".

The Bishop has, no doubt, reflected the general thinking of the Tamil people. It is now two score and ten months since signing of the CFA and the commencement of the peace talks. Many an attempts have been taken to put in place 'some interim arrangements' to deliver urgent humanitarian needs prior to venturing on the final resolution, for final resolution may take a longer period of time and humanitarian needs, specially as a by-product of war devastation, calls for immediate attention. SIHRN and similar sub-committees are typical examples of ineffective and powerless apparatus established in this context.

It is under these circumstances, a full fledged interim administration was sought after and the necessity emphasized. The government as one partner of the process has put forward several draft proposals under different names. These were carefully studied by the LTTE and rejected as not matching the needs of the Tamil people. It s at this stage the Tigers decided to put forward a proposal on behalf of the Tamil people. The proposals thus prepared had within it, inputs from scholars, academics, constitutional experts with international standing and hands-on experience in interim arrangement vis-à-vis conflict resolution. Aspirations notwithstanding, the proposals meet the dire needs of a citizenry that has faced the brunt of a brutal war.

Going the extra mile, the Tamil people have, by an overwhelming public mandate, given a democratic face to the proposals, meeting national and international acceptance. Much water has flown under the bridge since Colombo started submitting proposals, all of which have been rejected and now the Colombo regime is trying to come up with a counter proposal. Negotiators may change, regimes may change but the Government of Sri Lanka continues to remain as one party to the peace process, the other being LTTE on behalf of the Tamil people. The government's proposals, whether they are of the UNF or the incumbent regime, have lost validity and credibility. For the new regime to say now "here are our counter proposals, examine them", is therefore ridiculous and as rightly pointed out by the Bishop of Mannar, is a procrastinating strategy; the Tamil people see it that way and rightly so.

Quixotic and complex are the statements coming from the government circles like Government spokesperson Minster Mangala Samaraweera telling that the government is in the process of drafting a counter proposal and Mr. Jayantha Dhanapala, Director General of the Government Peace Secretariat expressing the same sentiment while in Jaffna. Strangely though, Mr. Wimal Weerawansa, Propaganda Secretary of the JVP the main partner in the UPFA government of President CBK, refutes and ridicules Mr. Jayantha Dhanapala. The JVP firebrand said so in a meeting under the auspices of Maharagama Youth League, the theme being 'Who are the real enemies of peace?'. Mr. Weerawansa is said to have amplified his repudiation by declaring that he and his party are an integral part in the government and therefore a counter proposal could not have been prepared without their knowledge.

As though the confusion is not sufficient, alas the President drops another bomb-shell saying that her government has sent seven or eight proposals to the Tigers and the latter has not responded. The ISGA thus is in a state of confusion galore. Only thing that is certain and clear is that it is not possible to reach a final resolution to the national crisis before institutionalizing an interim administration as endorsed by the Tamil people, on the basis of the ISGA proposals.

20 August 2004

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