Sri Lanka peace plan follows the right track

It seems now that the will to promote peace and co-existence has triumphed over the will to wage war and partition in Sri Lanka.

Obviously the price of this conclusion has been costly and enormous and paid by both Sri Lankan communities, the Sinhalese and the Tamils (75 and 15 per cent of the population respectively).

There was a great deal of bloodshed, many lives were lost, huge funds were spent and a great deal of the infrastructure has been devastated during the last 20 years of war between the Government forces (about 120,000 men) and the Tigers of Tamil Eelam (about 15,000 fighters) causing a deep rift in national unity and delaying the process of development whose budget was diverted for the military effort.

History will certainly recall that this war has been a very nasty conflict. It was a barbarian war that witnessed the worst violations of human rights, undermining human dignity and putting on hold the dreams and ambitions of an entire nation.

This has been worsened by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's acts of kidnapping, blackmail, brainwashing, recruitment of children and drug trafficking (let alone idolising the charismatic leader Velupillai Prabhakaran) and resort to other illegal methods to provide financial and human fuel for the conflict.

The LTTE had the best terrorist shipping network in the world. According to Indian and other intelligence, their vessels have been used not only to smuggle arms to the war zone in Sri Lanka, but also to ship weapons from Al Qaida to Abu Sayyaf group in the Philippines, and to Turkey to supply rebels in Chechnya.

Blessing in disguise

History will also recall that there has been a blessing in disguise in the context of this conflict. If it was not for the events of September 11 and the subsequent American war against terrorism and the wide scale international moves aimed at eliminating it, the LTTE would not have changed their strategy and objectives and would not have agreed to lay down arms and go to the negotiating table.

The U.S. and international anti-terrorism campaign has put the LTTE, like other armed movements, under the spotlight, tightening the noose around them and making it difficult for them to engage in activities that enabled them to get arms, funds and political publicity after having been freely acting in a wide geographical area extending from Singapore to Canada.

In the past, this group was free to use devious methods in blackmailing Tamil emigrants through brass-plate companies pretending to engage in trade, tourism and shipping but in reality were involved in acquiring funds for purchasing and smuggling arms to the rebels' stronghold in the Jaffna peninsula.

Now there is great hope and increasing optimism that once and for all the last chapter of the ethnic conflict has come to an end in the island of tea farms, palm trees, fascinating beaches and simple and good-hearted people.

This is because serious steps were taken for reconciliation between the government and rebels at the Thai Sattahip naval base (some 200 km. from Bangkok) in the middle of September. The two sides launc-hed serious negotiations aimed at addressing the full range of issues pertaining to a lasting political settlement by a step-by-step approach.

It is true that these negotiations will take a relatively long time during successive meetings expected to be held on October 31-November 3, December 2-5, and January 6-9, 2003. It is also true that the final settlement may take several years. However, what is important is that the talks have made a good start unlike the last four attempts made in the last century.

The current peace process is backed by a solid ceasefire that remains effective since last February and by an unprecedented government decision to lift the sanctions imposed against the LTTE.

It also enjoy the support of the war-weary local population and the solid backing of the regional and international communities, not to mention the Norwegian mediator who had made earlier moves prior to the September 11 events but to no avail.

Furthermore, the major stumbling block that has always stood in the way of reconciliation and peace has been removed as represented by the rebels' announcement, for the first time, that they no longer aim to establish a separate Tamil state in the northern and eastern regions of Sri Lanka. All they are demanding now is simply to get the right to self-determination within a united Sri Lankan entity.

Of course, this new aim, which is not opposed by the Colombo government, involves various options that will be subject to discussion in the forthcoming rounds of negotiations.

For example, such options include the creation of a federal or confederate system of government or an autonomous government in the north and east of the country to meet the Tamil aspirations for the recognition of their distinct language, culture, history, and economic life.

The broad outlines of the peace process were drawn up at the historic meeting in Thailand. The government side led by Minister for Constitutional Affairs and Peace, Prof. G. L. Peris and the Tamil side led by LTTE ideologue, Anton Balasingam reached an agreement on a timetable for launching the process according to certain priorities.

The most significant was the agreement on steps to rebuild and enhance confidence through a prisoner exchange (first exchange took place this month according to a formula of exchanging three government captives against seven rebel captives), reunion of families that were separated by the years of war, return of emigrants or those forced to leave their original provinces, removal of mines from the fields and forests that were scenes of the fighting between the forces of both sides and formation of a joint force from the army and rebels to help implement the above goals.

Modest financial resources

Given the modest financial resources of the Sri Lankan government and its total debts (around $10 billion according to 2000 figures), such goals may not be achieved as quickly as originally envisaged without immediate funding and assistance of the donor community.

It remains for us to mention two significant points that have drawn the attention of many observers.

First, in spite of the representation of Sri Lankan Muslims (forming around 7.5 per cent of the island's total population of 17.5 million and are of Tamil, Malay and Arab ethnic origins) in the government negotiating team through Minister of Ports Rauf Hakeem, the community known as "Tamil Plantation" has not been represented in either of the negotiating delegations, hence their voice was not heard concerning the current development.

It should be noted that this community was brought into Ceylon from India by the British in the 19th and early 20th centuries to work in the tea and other plantations. Shortly after independence, the government passed legislation that made it very difficult for these Tamils to be Sri Lankan citizens although many of them were born in the island. By the 1960s their number was around one million stateless people.