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CDD urges civil society to support peace process

Centre for Democracy and Development calls upon all sectors of the civil society to support the ongoing peace process and calls upon the government and the LTTE to ensure human rights, especially in the war-affected North and East. It also calls for a bi-partisan approach to the problem and urges the government avoid the mistakes of past regimes which abrogated pacts already entered into by them.

The CDD also calls upon the government to follow the correct political and constitutional procedures in executing all steps in the peace process.

The CDD statement:

"The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) extends its vigilant support to the ongoing peace process and calls upon all sectors of the civil society to do the same with a vision to completely end the civil war and seek a sustainable political solution to the ethnic conflict. We earnestly urge the government, however, to follow the correct constitutional and political procedures in the execution of all steps in the peace process in order that the process itself is legitimate, democratic and sustainable.

1. It is the fervent aspiration of the people of this country to have peace and harmony as indicated twice by the election results of 1994 and 2001 as well as in several opinion surveys conducted in the recent past on people's opinions on the ethnic conflict, peace process and the need to end the war. Peace, however, cannot be achieved only through the good faith of the people. A firm commitment and seriousness should be assured on the part of the Government as well as the LTTE as the main parties to the present military conflict and being the key players to any effort at seeking an amicable solution to the political impasse. The war had drained both human and financial resources of this country with damaging results on its required social and economic development.

2. This is not the first time, however, that the people of Sri Lanka, whether they are Sinhalese, Tamils or Muslims, hope for peace. On three previous occasions in 1987, 1989-90 and 1994-5 the initiatives for peace became completely shattered for well-known reasons, particularly known for those who opted to terminate the truce. The consequences were devastating not only for the Sinhalese and the Tamils but also for the Muslims. In our opinion, the lessons of these past experiences are necessary ingredients to make the present effort a success. A mere lip service to peace is not sufficient. The support of the civil society and the people of this country for the ongoing peace process therefore should be vigilant to make sure that peace will be a success at least this time. We note with satisfaction in this respect two new positive factors in the current peace process: (1) the changed international circumstances after the terrorist attack on the United States and (2) the mediation by Norway.

3. The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) extends its unequivocal support for the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement signed by the UNF Government and the LTTE in February 2002. There is no need to emphasize the paramount importance of ceasefire as a confidence building measure to create conditions necessary for negotiations to settle the long standing political and other disputes. We, however, note with regret some of the deviations and violations particularly by the LTTE during the unilaterally declared ceasefires before signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and even thereafter. It is our strong feeling that the present ceasefire agreement needs to be whole-heartedly supported irrespective of the criticisms one may entertain and express in respect of the substance or the loopholes in the MoU. What is categorically necessary however in the implementation of the MoU is to extend the scope and strengthen the monitoring system for the mutual benefit of both the Government and the LTTE.

4. The ceasefire so far in general has not only de-escalated the war but has also created conditions for the strengthening of humanitarian assistance and first steps towards normalisation of lives and livelihood of several thousands of inhabitants of various communities directly and indirectly affected by the war. It is particularly this humanitarian aspect of the equation that we would like to emphasise for the careful consideration of the parties to the conflict and those who try to oppose the ceasefire on various political and other grounds. Return back to war means losing all the benefits of normal life for all those persons who are now benefiting from the ceasefire. There is a paramount need to ensure immediately all human rights and democratic freedoms throughout the country and particularly in the war affected areas of the North and East. Human rights of the people are non-negotiable and the parties to the conflict and the LTTE in particular should display a firm commitment to human rights democracy and pluralism to ensure a peaceful transformation of the present conflict to achieve the legitimate rights and aspirations of the Tamil people in harmony with the other peoples.

5. A ceasefire is not merely an end itself but a means to achieve other ends of sustainable peace and political solutions to the ongoing disputes and conflicts. It is in this context that we urge the Government to proceed for political discussions with the LTTE as soon as possible in order that the second process of political negotiations is soon started. We urge both the Government and the LTTE to seize upon the favourable opportunities and atmosphere in the international context including the goodwill of Norway and other countries to assist and insist that the conflict in Sri Lanka is settled through peaceful means rather than war.

6. It is the overwhelming desire of all communities to see that the key players of the respective communities and political parties openly and frankly venture into political discussions with a spirit of trust, pragmatism and willingness to compromise. It is in the above context that we urge the government and the opposition to forge a bipartisan approach to sustain the peace process unleashed by the ceasefire agreement. Peace is not a matter only for the political party or the parties in power. The peace process has to be an inclusive process particularly encompassing the key political players of all communities.

7. We strongly urge the government to avoid the mistakes of the past particularly made during the negotiations between Bandaranaike and Chelvanayakam, Senanayake and Chelvanayakam and Gandhi and Jayewardene, leading to the virtual abrogation of the agreements reached at the end. In our opinion, a mere agreement between Ranil Wickremesinghe and Velupillai Prabhakaran or the UNF and the LTTE will not be sufficient for sustainable peace and the resolution of the political conflict in this country. The agreement and commitment of major political actors of both sides need to be sought for peace. While we strongly support the current peace process unleashed by the ceasefire declarations and the present MoU between the UNF Government and the LTTE we earnestly urge the government to follow the correct political and constitutional procedures in the execution of all steps in the peace process in order that the process itself is legitimate, democratic and sustainable."

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