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INDICTMENT AGAINST SRI LANKA
Censorship, Disinformation & Murder of Journalists
Contribution to Truth (& Peace) by Reuter Correspondent
Joe Ariyaratnam in Sri Lanka
"Whatever may be said, whosoever may say it -
to determine the truth of it, is wisdom"
- Thirukural
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AFP Thu Nov 11, 5:44 AM ET |
AP, Thu Nov 11, 2004 07:28 EST
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Reuters - Thu 11 Nov 2004 13:07:49 GMT |
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"Tigers give new message on reviving Sri Lanka peace talks" |
"Sri Lanka rebels convey message to govt on saving peace process" |
"Peace deal with Sri Lanka govt
impossible -Tigers" |
COLOMBO (AFP) - Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels said they conveyed a secret
message to President Chandrika Kumaratunga through peace broker Norway on
ending a 19-month deadlock on negotiations.
The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said the undisclosed
message was given to Foreign Minister Jan Petersen during a rare meeting
with Tiger supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran Thursday.
"We have conveyed a message to her (the president) on how to take the peace
process forward," LTTE's chief peace negotiator Anton Balasingham was quoted
as saying on the pro-rebel Tamilnet website.
"But the Norwegians have requested us not to speak about it to the press
until they discuss it with the Sri Lankan president."
Petersen is due to return to Colombo from the rebel-held town of
Kilinochchi, 330 kilometres ( 206 miles) north of here for a second round of
talks with Kumaratunga before leaving the island early Friday.
During late-night talks with Kumaratunga Wednesday, Petersen was asked to
convey the government's desire to resume direct negotiations with the LTTE
at the earliest opportunity, a statement from Kumaratunga's office said.
"The foreign minister undertook to convey the president's views to the LTTE
leadership when he meets them ... and stressed that this was an opportune
moment to renew direct talks between the government of Sri Lanka and the
LTTE," the statement said.
It said Kumaratunga reiterated her commitment to maintain the Oslo-brokered
truce with the Tigers, in place since February 2002, and wanted a peaceful
end to a conflict which claimed over 60,000 lives between 1972 and 2002.
Petersen was accompanied by his deputy Vidar Helgesen and special envoy Erik
Solheim.
"The Norwegians have only modest expectations," a source close to the peace
process said ahead of the meetings. "We are not expecting a breakthrough on
resuming the direct negotiations."
Solheim arrived here ahead of Petersen's three-day visit which began
Wednesday and has already met Sri Lankan leaders.
The London-based Balasingham returned to the island with his wife Adele,
also a Tigers negotiator, ahead of the meeting with Petersen.
The Tamilnet Web site quoted Balasingham as saying in Kilinochchi that
urgent humanitarian needs of the Tamil minority must be addressed soon.
"Once the talks begin they (Colombo) can bring their ideas to the
negotiating table," Balasingham said. "Hence we had a long discussion with
the Norwegians about how to restart the talks early."
The Oslo-brokered peace talks between the Colombo government and the LTTE
have been on hold since the guerrillas walked out in April last year.
The Colombo government has accused the Tigers of killing more than 250 of
their rivals since the ceasefire went into effect.
Diplomatic sources said building trust between the two sides was a key
challenge for the Norwegians.
Norway said in a statement last week the purpose of Petersen's visit was to
ask the two sides "whether they wish to move towards resuming negotiations."
Petersen said in the statement that he did not have high expectations but it
was important to keep engaging with the parties concerned.
The Tigers and the Colombo government held six rounds of face-to-face
negotiations between September 2002 and March 2003 before the talks stalled.
The rebels said last week they had not abandoned their "right to secede"
despite agreeing at the third round of talks to explore a federal solution
to the conflict.
Four previous attempts to end the fighting ended in failure and led to more
bloodshed. |
COLOMBO, Nov. 11 (Kyodo) Sri Lanka - 's Tamil Tiger guerrillas on Thursday
sent a secret message to President Chandrika Kumaratunga on saving the
island's troubled peace process, the rebels said. The Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam said they gave the ''message'' to visiting Norwegian Foreign
Minister Jan Petersen when he met with Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran
earlier in the day.
''We have conveyed a message to her on how to take the peace process
forward,'' LTTE's chief peace negotiator Anton Balasingham was quoted as
saying on the pro-rebel Tamilnet website. ''But the Norwegians have
requested us not to speak about it to the press until they discuss it with
the Sri Lankan president,'' he said.
Petersen returned to Colombo from the rebel-held town of Kilinochchi, 330
kilometers north of here, for a second round of talks with Kumaratunga later
Thursday. He is slated to leave the island early Friday.
During late-night talks with Kumaratunga on Wednesday, Petersen was asked to
convey the government's willingness to resume direct negotiations with the
LTTE at the earliest opportunity, a statement from Kumaratunga's office
said.
''The foreign minister undertook to convey the president's views to the LTTE
leadership when he meets them...and stressed that this was an opportune
moment to renew direct talks between the government and the LTTE,'' the
statement said.
It said Kumaratunga stressed her commitment to maintain the Oslo-brokered
truce with the Tigers and wanted a political settlement to end the conflict.
More than 60,000 people have been killed in fighting in the past three
decades.
The Tamilnet website quoted Balasingham as saying in Kilinochchi that urgent
humanitarian needs of the Tamil minority must be addressed soon. ''Once the
talks begin they (Colombo) can bring their ideas to the negotiating table,''
Balasingham said. ''Hence we had a long discussion with the Norwegians about
how to restart the talks early.'' The Oslo-brokered peace talks
between the Colombo government and the LTTE have been on hold since the
guerrillas walked out in April last year.
The Colombo government has accused the Tigers of killing more than 250 of
their rivals since the cease-fire went into effect.
Norway said in a statement last week the purpose of Petersen's visit was to
ask the two sides ''whether they wish to move toward resuming
negotiations.''
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By Joe Ariyaratnam
KILINOCHCHI, Sri Lanka, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers on
Thursday doused hopes of putting a speedy end to two decades of civil war,
saying a final peace deal was impossible under the current government.
Norwegian peace envoys wrapped up the latest round of shuttle diplomacy to
jumpstart stalled peace talks with the rebels. The notorious guerrilla
group, whose bloody war for autonomy killed more than 64,000 people, said
there had been no progress.
"It is not possible to find a permanent solution under this government,"
chief rebel peace negotiator Anton Balasingham said after talks with
Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen in Kilinochchi, the Tigers' northern
stronghold.
"No progress has been made on the political level," Balasingham added. "I am
sorry to say there is nothing new in (the government's) message."
The government's Marxist coalition partner the JVP has voiced opposition to
giving the Tigers self-rule, which Balasingham said hampered restarting
peace talks.
His comments came just a day after Sri Lankan President Chandrika
Kumaratunga told Reuters in an interview her government was exploring new,
undisclosed options to end a stalemate in peace talks.
The government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam agreed to a
ceasefire brokered by Norway in 2002, after the rebels' war for autonomy had
displaced hundreds of thousands from their homes and left towns in ruins.
The truce is holding, but the Tigers pulled out of peace talks last year,
leaving hopes of sealing permanent peace in limbo.
The two sides are deadlocked over the rebels' central demand for interim
self-rule in parts of the north and east they control.
Months Long Statemate
"I consider this a routine visit," Norway's Petersen told Reuters in
Kilinochchi before boarding a helicopter back to Colombo to carry the
Tigers' reply to a message from Kumaratunga.
"We have been facilitators for five years. We are willing to stay with the
process as long as it takes," Petersen added. "We don't know how long. But
we are patient."
Kumaratunga said on Wednesday the message she had sent to the Tigers was
simple: "Come to talks".
She originally invited Norway to mediate because of its experience in Middle
East peace efforts and its perceived neutrality.
"Discussions have been useful, but it's very difficult to give an assessment
as per now," Petersen added. "Let's see what happens."
Kumaratunga said on Wednesday a definitive peace deal may be some way off,
saying she believed the Tigers' reclusive leader Velupillai Prabhakaran was
still clinging to his dream of a breakaway state.
But she is cautiously optimistic that the rebels, who already have de facto
rule over their northern and eastern strongholds with their own shops,
taxation system, police and even law school, will eventually resume peace
talks.
The rebel group, which the United States has placed on a list of banned
terrorist organisations, such as al Qaeda, demand self-rule before they will
even start to discuss permanent peace.
Petersen's visit follows a failed bid to kickstart talks by Japanese peace
envoy Yasushi Akashi, who left Sri Lanka last week saying he was "concerned
about the lack of visible progress".
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