From guns to roses

The Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam achieve a major breakthrough in the second round of their negotiations in Thailand.

"The talks are going from victory to victory."

Erik Solheim, Oslo's special envoy for Sri Lanka's peace process, midway through the second round of negotiations between Colombo and the LTTE.

THE sprawling Rose Garden resort in this ancient Thai province, 32 km from the bustling capital, Bangkok, is closer to the corridors of politics than the Sattahip naval headquarters, where the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) started negotiations in September (Frontline, October 11, 2002). The venue was witness to three key decisions, which, if implemented as earnestly as they were agreed upon, could change the course of Sri Lanka's history: The basic structure to start de-escalation of the conflict, an agreement to look at the political models available and a joint effort to seek international assistance to rebuild the north-east. In addition, ice was broken on the sensitive question of eastern territory, with the LTTE's military wing giving its nod for a series of measures aimed at winning the confidence of its Muslim population.

It was from this resort that on the last day of the talks the LTTE's chief negotiator Anton Balasingham told the world that the Tigers, known for the past two decades as an intolerant, authoritarian organisation, desired to join the democratic process. (During the Ranasinghe Premadasa talks, the Tigers formed a political party, the People's Liberation Front of Tigers. However, the party, which was led by Mahatiya, was a non-starter.)

"It is the ultimate aim of the Tigers to join the democratic mainstream. No one should have any doubt about it,'' he told a press conference, which he addressed along with the head of the Sri Lankan government delegation, Gamini Lakshman Peiris. "If we are committed to entering the democratic mainstream, we will have to accept and assimilate other groups. We will definitely allow other political groups and parties to participate in the democratic process in the north and east,'' Balasingham continued. This is the second public shift in the LTTE's position in as many months.

Balasingham said that the Tigers were not operating on the concept of a separate state and spelt out "substantial regional autonomy and self-governance'' as the political basis for a solution. Balasingham's commitment was endorsed immediately by Peiris, who said: "The LTTE taking part in a media briefing like this indicates more than any words would do that they are engaged in a transformation into a political organisation. They are coming to grips with the political realities and complexities. The best example of that is what is happening in this very room.''

The new venue, for the second round of talks, though directed by logistics, was a symbolic prelude to what was to unfold. In a figurative sense, the just-concluded round signifies a move away from guns to roses. The issues that dominated the three-day deliberations showed a marked difference from the first round. The plush garden setting, with the negotiating hall nesting on the edge of an artificial lake provided the right ambience for peace-making. But back home in Sri Lanka, the situation was far from encouraging. In Colombo, clashes between Sinhalese and Muslims, which led to a curfew in parts of the city, dampened the prospects. A day later, the Colombo High Court sentenced LTTE supremo Vellupillai Prabhakaran to a 200-year jail term.

And a day before the talks ended, an arms-seizure off the eastern shores of Sri Lanka completed the prescription for scuttling the talks. The second round of talks survived these pressure points.

Earlier attempts at a negotiated settlement had fallen by the wayside for various reasons, unrelated to what the negotiators were discussing. "If reasons to pull out from the talks were needed, there were many. But they held on because they had a genuine desire to do so'', Solheim told Frontline after the talks ended. He had just returned from a tree-planting ceremony ( the heads of the two delegations, Peiris and Balasingham, planted a cannon ball tree outside the Glass House, the hall where the negotiations were held for four days.

The tree, called sal in Sri Lanka, is of great religious significance as it is linked to the birth of the Buddha. Ironically, just a year ago, during a suicide bombing attempt in Colombo, the remains of the Black Tiger were splashed on a cannon ball tree, close to the official residence of Peiris. When the talks began, it was expected to move from the symbolism that was rampant in the first round. Expectations were that the current round would move on towards political and military issues.

The first indication of this possibility came from the composition of the LTTE's team. The group has always described itself as a politico-military organisation.

This time around, the presence of its political wing leader, S.P. Tamilchelvam, and its eastern military commander, Karuna, made it a visible statement. These two leaders replaced Jay Maheswaran and V. Rudrakumaran who were in the team to discuss development and rehabilitation issues. That apart, the Tigers had faced some criticism that both Maheswaran and Rudrakumaran were from the overseas Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora and not from the Wanni, a point conceded by Balasingham. "There was criticism that they were outsiders," he told journalists on board a commercial flight to Thailand.

The two leaders fitted into their new roles quite comfortably. Karuna, who stopped the advances of the Sri Lanka Army during two years of bitter fighting, was in Thailand to talk to Maj. Gen. Shantha Kottegoda, the military officer whose troops he defeated. No sense of elation was evident. Both fighters were now focussed on peace. "There is no war now. We are friends. If the war starts, we will see," Karuna told journalists mid-way during the talks.

And the outcomes from the second round: A joint statement at the end of the talks said that the two sides had taken "significant steps" that touched upon the three limbs of the conflict civilian rehabilitation, military concerns and political matters. The government and the Tigers agreed to embark on the committee approach to conflict resolution: similar to the course the ruling United National Party (UNP) adopts when it is confronted with difficult issues. Three committees are to be formed after the current round of talks.

The first committee was a follow-up on the first round's decision to set up a joint task force to address issues of the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the northeast and resettlement of internally displaced persons in those areas. Differences of opinion between the government and the Tigers on details such as to whom this task force would be accountable were sorted out. The committee would take the name of a Sub-Committee on Immediate Humanitarian and Rehabilitation Needs in the North and East. Its role will be to identify humanitarian and rehabilitation needs, prioritise implementation of activities to meet these needs, decide on the allocation of the financial resources for such activities and determine implementing agencies for each of such activities.

This eight-member sub-committee would have four members each from the LTTE and the government. Tamilchelvan and the secretary-general of the Government's Peace Secretariat, Bernard Goonetilleke, will be the leading members of this panel, which will report to the negotiators. Commencing a long process of de-escalation, the two sides agreed to set up the sub-committee as a mechanism for "a structured dialogue''. This will include high-level civilian and military personnel on both sides, including Defence Secretary Austin Fernando and Karuna.

The most significant joint panel agreed upon at the Rose Garden was the Sub-Committee on Political Matters. To be chaired by Peiris and Balasingham, this body will "jointly and separately address in depth, at the current stage of the peace process, relevant subjects such as other peace processes, political solutions to ethnic conflicts, models and systems of government, issues of post-conflict transition, co-ordination of international assistance and reconciliation processes''. This committee, which will include the leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, Rauff Hakeem, will interact with relevant experts and practitioners to formulate approaches to the critical political issues for consideration in future sessions of the peace talks.

The next round will be held in Oslo, between December 2 and December 5. The change of venue was necessitated as Thailand would be busy celebrating the King's birthday.

Subsequent rounds will return to Thailand. The fourth round will be convened between January 6 and 9, 2003, followed by one between February 7 and 10. The fifth round is scheduled between March 18 and 21.

Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgessen was happy that the peace process was progressing "remarkably well''. There was a "determination by both parties to overcome difficulties'' he said, adding that the Rose Garden talks were held in a "constructive'' manner and its outcome had "exceeded expectations''.

As the sense of elation continues in Sri Lanka, the words of Helgessen provide the much-required reality check. "What we have agreed is here on paper. It has to be implemented vigorously on the ground.''