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"Delay in creating normalcy in the NorthEast will retard peace process"

On an invitation from the Norwegian foreign ministry the LTTE team headed by Mr. S. P. Tamilselvan, Head of the LTTE political wing and Col. Karuna, special Commander Batticaloa and Amparai attended a meeting with Mr. Jan Petersen, Norwegian Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Ministry complex yesterday evening 17th October.

Mr. Jan Petersen, Special envoy Erik Soulheim and Ms. Lisa Golden received the LTTE team at the entrance of the Ministry complex. "I am very much pleased to receive the representatives of the Tamil people in the NorthEast of Sri Lanka at a crucial juncture in their political journey to bring about peace" said Mr. Petersen while receiving the team.

Mr. Petersen expressed his desire to know in detail the progress made so far in formulating the Interim Administration proposals and requested Mr. Tamilselvan to brief him on the current political situation. Mr. Tamilselvan thanked the Foreign Minister for his interest in the success of the peace process and for the invitation extended by the Norwegian Government to visit Norway. In explaining the current status Mr. Tamilselvan dealt with elaborately on the various steps taken by the LTTE towards the resolution of the conflict.

Here are excerpts from Mr. Tamilselvan's briefing:

"The Interim Administration proposals formulated in Paris were submitted to our national leader and after his review we found that some amendments were necessary and therefore had to conduct further deliberations with the constitutional experts from the Tamil Diaspora who participated in the formulation. This was made possible in our trip to Ireland where we were able to include inputs from intellectuals, members of Irish parliament, constitutional experts with a background of conflict resolution in Bougainvillea and ANC members from South Africa.

We paid attention to the conflict resolution process in various parts of world with special emphasis on the interim arrangements that were pit in place prior to a final resolution of the conflict. In the Sri Lankan context and in the background of the Cease Fire Agreement, which contained within it clauses ensuring normalcy and alleviation of hardships caused to the civilians by war. It was felt that an interim administrative arrangement alone could deliver the dividends of peace to the civilians since the previous Sub-Committee appointed to attend to the Immediate Humanitarian Needs of the people (SIHRN) failed to fulfill the requirements in the areas of resettlement and rehabilitation solely due to the lethargic attitude of the government in implementing what was agreed upon in the negotiation table.

It is only by effectively implementing the Cease Fire Agreement vis-à-vis normalcy, resettlement and creating a peaceful environment without military coercion in civilian life, we can build confidence in the minds of the Tamil people and thereby make them partners in the peace process. Even after the passage of 18 months since signing of the Cease Fire Agreement, hundreds of thousands of people are unable to go back to their homes and continue to languish in refugee camps because of the military occupying their habitats. Densely populated areas continue to have an omnipresence of military and thereby creating a sense of fear in the minds of the people. Farmers are unable to go back to their farmlands because of the arbitrary classification of the farmlands as 'High Security Zones' and the fishermen are facing hardships due to the Navy restricting fishing activities.

Recent activities of the military in the North East indicate a hostile attitude towards the civilians. In the circumstances the Tamil people are beginning to lose hope in the peace process and we are afraid that this will create a sense of frustration and therefore it becomes necessary to bring pressure on the government to create an environment conducive for peace and confidence building. In this respect the international community that is interested in lasting peace, has a moral responsibility to interact with the Government of Sri Lanka and create such an environment. If this is not done expeditiously the peace process will be retarded'.

Mr. Jan Petersen who listened to the briefing with keen interest expressed his understanding of the ground situation said that Norway, as facilitator to the peace process, will take all possible measures to bring about a conducive atmosphere for the resumption of talks and resolution of the conflict.

17 October 2003

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