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 AFP Thu Nov 11, 5:44 AM ET | AP, Thu Nov 11, 2004 07:28 EST | Reuters - Thu 11 Nov 2004 13:07:49 GMT | | "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.''
| 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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