Fifth Session of Peace Talks in Germany & Aftermath: 2004

"two SLMM monitors together with a female Tamil translator boarded the trawler and carried out a more thorough search. ... they detected the weapons haul which included an anti aircraft gun, ammunition and grenades concealed under the floorboard of the trawler..."

 "...The most significant road block ...is the inability or unwillingness of the government and the President, who also leads the main opposition in parliament, to act together in countering the LTTE in its tactics and strategies..."

" During an address to the LTTE in Dusseldorf, Germany, Balasingham stated: �The current talks will not lead to a settlement. You know the political history for the past 50 years. You may ask why we are going for talks when we do not have confidence. We are utilizing the talks to unveil the true face of the Sinhala nation to the international community. We will make this an opportunity to show that they are not honest�

D.Sivaram on Tamil Eelam & Nagaland

"...a long period of peace talks would offer inevitable opportunities for Indian intelligence agencies to widen direct contacts and engineer splits in the movement, buy over leaders, subject the Naga population to peace time psyops, foster ethnic and tribal divisions, induce corruption in the ranks of the militant groups etc...In the same manner Indian counter insurgency experts succeeded in containing the two decade long armed struggle by the Mizo people to establish the independent state of Mizoram ..Delhi first brought about a military stalemate in Mizoram, then locked the Mizo independence movement into prolonged peace talks, induced it to drop the demand for a separate state and, later, its demand for a radical restructuring of the Indian state and eventually inveigled the Mizo leadership into accepting a solution within the parameters of the Indian constitution.. 

Given the specific circumstances in which the peace talks between the LTTE and the United National Front government are taking place, the application of a parallel strategy on the part of the Sri Lankan state and its international backers appears inevitable. As we have reiterated, it is apparently quite clear to the UNF leadership and its constitutional experts that a federal solution to settle the conflict cannot be granted in any form within the parameters of Sri Lanka�s constitution. Therefore in continuing the talks without acknowledging this reality, the UNF is obviously and inexorably committing itself to the well tested strategy for containing and co-opting a separatist insurgent movement into the status quo, sans any radical restructuring of the state.

The only hitch in all this, however, is that the UNF and its backers seem to often forget that they are dealing with the LTTE, which is a different kettle of fish.." more

 "...The balance of power of the two parties to the Ceasefire Agreement was discussed and in principle accepted by the LTTE leadership, which raised concerns about the buildup of the Sri Lanka Military..."

"...the LTTE cannot be permitted to use the MoU to conduct or maintain its war by other means.."

"The prevalent level of optimism in hopes for a successful conclusion of the ongoing negotiations between the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the LTTE stems largely from the supposedly reassuring words of highly placed spokesmen of the U.S. that any settlement of the problem should not violate the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka...Anyone acquainted with the bewildering and often unprincipled decisions of those who control international politics... have cause for disquiet, even anxiety. Decisions taken by them are dictated by considerations of real politique and such lofty sentiments rarely stand the test of time..."

"...Both India and the US coalition �managing� the talks know full well that an acceptable political solution to the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka is not legally and practically possible. But both insist on the continuation of the talks. This can mean only two things - they either want Thamileelam to continue in its current �limbo� statehood for their respective strategic reasons or precipitate its withering through �containment.� The former seems more probable in view of the emerging geopolitical scenario in this part of the Indian Ocean. Either way �semi-statehood� is an entrapment. (But one may still ponder the fact that powerful military forces in the past emerged out of �limbo states,� which lurked long on the murky margins of the comity of ancient nations) Sliding smoothly out of this geo-strategic snare, unscathed, is the task that will politically preoccupy the LTTE in the next phase of the Tamil people�s struggle for justice..."