For a durable peace

Prime Minister Wickremasinghe, on a visit to India, wins New Delhi's support for his initiatives to restart the peace process in Sri Lanka.

RANIL WICKREMASINGHE, Sri Lanka's new Prime Minister, made a three-day official visit to New Delhi starting December 22, accompanied by Foreign Minister Tyronne Fernando and Minister for Economic Reconstruction, Science and Technology Ashoka Milinda Moragoda. An important objective of the trip was to acquaint the Indian leadership with the initiatives of his United National Front (UNF) government to resolve the ethnic strife in the island nation. Wickremasinghe is a frequent visitor to New Delhi, where he is held in high esteem.

The United National Party (UNP) government under President Ranasinghe Premadasa had tried to sideline India in the 1990s in matters relating to its interaction with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), leading to ill-will and suspicion on both sides. President Chandrika Kumaratunga has kept India in the loop about the developments in the peace process, which has remained bogged down in violence and mutual recrimination for more than a year.

Wickremasinghe led the UNP-led Front to victory in the hard-fought parliamentary elections, held on December 6, on the promise that the chances for peace would brighten if the UNF was voted to power. There have been indications that the LTTE is now interested in a durable peace. The United States' war on terrorism and the decision of the U.S. and its Western allies, Canada and Britain, to brand the LTTE a 'terrorist organisation' have made the Tigers reassess their options. This was evident in LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabakaran's annual 'Heroes' Day' speech on November 27, in which, cutting out the usual belligerence, he emphasised that Tamils wanted "neither separatism nor terrorism".

According to several analysts in Sri Lanka, a post-elections realignment of forces has brightened the prospects of peace.

Wickremasinghe is clear that the dialogue process must get priority. He is not against the setting up of an "interim administration" for the Tamil majority in the north and the northeast. The magnitude of the UNF victory over the People's Alliance (P.A.) led by Chandrika Kumaratunga is clear proof that the people want an end to the war. The P.A. had in its ranks some Sinhala chauvinists who advocate a military solution to the conflict.

Chandrika Kumaratunga's plan was to introduce a new Constitution that would devolve more powers to the regions, including the Tamil-dominated ones. The issue of devolution became a contentious one and precipitated the parliamentary elections much ahead of schedule. The UNP was opposed to several aspects of the devolution package.

Wickremasinghe said in New Delhi that he had sought India's "encouragement, understanding and support" in achieving the goal of a lasting peace. He said he wished to start out on the long road to reconciliation by lifting the ban on the supply of essential humanitarian goods to the beleaguered north. The UNF government also proposes to act decisively and expeditiously against the harassment of Tamil fishermen and allow them more freedom of movement.

"It will be a step-by-step approach. First we shall deal with humanitarian problems as they are not an issue between the government and the LTTE. The foundations should be firm for future talks to succeed," he said. He added that a good beginning had been made with the cessation of hostilities declared by both sides for a month. Wickremasinghe was confident about the ceasefire extending beyond the current deadline of January 24. Analysts consider that confidence-building measures such as these are essential for the peace talks to have a real chance of success.

Wickremasinghe said he would make a formal request to the Norwegian peace-brokers to act once again as facilitators in the talks with the LTTE. He said that there was "no direct communication" between the government and the LTTE. Both sides communicated through the Norwegians.

New Delhi initially had some suspicions about the Norwegian role in the peace efforts in Sri Lanka. India's stand is that for any peace plan to succeed, it should have the support of the Tamils and the international community. However, New Delhi has welcomed the new initiatives. The joint statement issued at the end of Wickremasinghe's visit said that the Government of India "fully supported" the measures taken by the new Prime Minister.

"India reiterated its commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka. The Government of India welcomes the cessation of hostilities announced by the LTTE and the positive response of the Government of Sri Lanka and hopes this will begin a process to restore lasting peace," the statement said. Wickremasinghe, however, said that the Indian government would not like to play the role of a "guarantor". Before he embarked on his visit, Wickremasinghe had told a Lankan newspaper that he wanted to give India a big role in the peace process. External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, speaking to the media after his talks with Wickremasinghe, said that "peace should be brokered keeping in mind the interests of all the ethnic groups involved".

However, Wickremasinghe has warned against any euphoria about peace, and said that the time was not opportune for lifting the ban on the LTTE. He visualised a one-year time-frame for any breakthrough in the proposed peace talks. Wickremasinghe is of the view that there would be many ups and downs before substantial progress can be achieved. He observed that the $16 billion Sri Lankan economy could hardly afford to spend a billion dollars annually on defence, as it is currently doing.

Wickremasinghe expressed confidence that the exercise in political cohabitation between the President and the Prime Minister, who head two politically antagonistic alliances, would succeed. Sri Lankan commentators have noted that despite the personal animosity between the President and the Prime Minister, there are no great ideological differences between the two. Besides, despite her wide constitutional powers, it will be difficult for the President to ride roughshod over the decisions of the Prime Minister, given the popular mandate the UNP-led coalition has received.

During the visit an agreement was signed whereby India would provide Sri Lanka 25,000 tonnes of wheat a month for the next 12 months. Sri Lanka is trying to negotiate a concessional rate for the purchase. India currently has a surplus wheat stock.

The two countries also agreed to cooperate in other areas such as agriculture, power and Information Technology. Sri Lanka wants more economic interaction with India. Wickremasinghe discussed ways to speed up the creation of a free trade area. Sri Lanka is said to be keen on sub-regional cooperation with the southern States of India. One of Wickremasinghe's pet projects has been the construction of a land bridge connecting the island with Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu. It was announced by both sides that the feasibility study for the dream project would be commissioned soon keeping in mind "the spirit of the closest of historical, cultural and social ties that have bound the two nations over millennia".

Reflecting the optimism of the smaller South Asian countries, Wickremasinghe said that the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit would take place as scheduled in Kathmandu. He said that the focus of the summit would be on economic issues. The issue of "terrorism" would also come up for discussion as it affected all member-countries, he said.