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Turning point in peace effort

In a deft move which is likely to further accelerate the peace effort, the Government, on Wednesday night, lifted the ban on the LTTE. With this vital measure, the Government has removed a huge hurdle to the launching of negotiations with the LTTE, which are scheduled to commence on September 16th. As is well-known, the proscription was right along cited by the LTTE as a stumbling block to the holding of Government-LTTE talks.

Greater cooperation by the LTTE in the peace effort could now be expected with the LTTE's deproscription. It would now be in a position to participate in the peace talks as a party which enjoys parity of status with the Government, the other important party to the proposed negotiations. We believe equality of status among these parties is an essential precondition for the success of the talks.

In peace negotiations there could be no inferiors and superiors. Peace is made among equals and this sense of equality invests the negotiating partners with an identical degree of dignity. If the talks are to succeed, no party could treat the other with condescension or paternalistic benevolence, for, such a relationship implies a superior-inferior dichotomy which is indignifying to the party which is perceived as being of lower status.

So the run-up to the peace talks couldn't have witnessed a more momentous development. Besides facilitating the peace process, the deproscription also points to a new mindset in the Government which has dispensed with old stereotypes and blinkers which would have proved stifling. We are reminded of those undying words of wisdom: New wine should be poured into new wineskins instead of being contained in old wineskins which would destruct on coming into contact with the new wine.

Many are the critics of the deproscription move. In terms of our analogy their mindsets are the old wineskins which would prove too threadbare and weak to contain the new wine which would take Lanka into a new tomorrow. Unfortunately, the hearts and minds of these critics have been moulded in the sweltering crucible of war and discord - things that belong to the sad past which needs to be left behind if we are to march gallantly to a brave, new tomorrow.

However, what is heartening is that the chief Buddhist prelates of the land, the Ven. Mahanayake Theras of the Malwatta and Asgiriya chapters have extended their goodwill to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in his efforts to bring peace. Thus, a vital segment of public opinion throws its considerable weight behind the negotiatory process.

However, quibbling bitterly over the deproscription could prove an utterly futile pastime. The lifting of the ban, it is plain to see, is aimed at facilitating the peace effort. It could be clamped once again depending on the progress achieved at the talks. The Lankan Government reserves the right to do so. Why split hairs, then, over the timing of the deproscription? Whether the debanning is effected now or later, the sole discretion to do so lies with the Government of Sri Lanka and nowhere else. Opposition agitationists please take note.

The Government's decision wouldn't have a chain reaction of sorts around the world either. Western governments which have banned the LTTE are under no obligation to emulate the Lankan Government, on this score. They are independent decision-making centres which would be guided by considerations peculiar to their states.

Rigorous formulas cannot be applied in the matter of peace-making. Peace processes are state specific and few commonly applicable rules could be derived from the experiences of individual countries. What was relevant for Northern Ireland, for instance, cannot be deemed to be important for Sri Lanka. We need to undertake our own peace journey in ways which would be advantageous to us. The adherence should only be to peace by peaceful means.

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