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Peace process a beacon of hope, says PM : US urges LTTE to renounce terrorism

From Arjuna Ranawana in Oslo

The United States yesterday called on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to renounce terrorism and violence and make clear that it has abandoned its armed struggle for a separate state.

The US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told the Peace Support conference in Oslo, Norway that his government believes the tactics of terror "can never achieve legitimate aspirations".

He said the US is "greatly encouraged that the LTTE has made a commitment to a political solution and has agreed to settle this conflict through peaceful means".

"We urge the LTTE to go one step further in their commitment and add a public renunciation of terrorism and violence. We want the LTTE to make it clear to the people of Sri Lanka and the international community that the LTTE has abandoned its armed struggle for a separate state," he said.

Armitage was among representatives of 35 countries ranging from Australia to Iceland who met to pledge support for the Sri Lanka peace process at the Holmenkollen Park Hotel near Oslo.

He paid tribute to President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga for initiating the peace process through her proposals of 1995 and said the process could not have come this far if not for the "bold decisions" and leadership of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

He also pointed out that the process could not succeed without the cooperation of the parties led by the President and the Prime Minister.

All speakers at the opening session also showered plaudits on Norway for its peacemaking efforts around the world, particularly in Sri Lanka.

The Prime Minister in his speech said that Norway, which was invited to be a facilitator five years ago by the President, deserves a special word of thanks. He also commended the work of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission.

The Premier said that the economy was recovering and the people were enjoying the benefits of re-discovered freedom.

But with these signs "there comes a risk. The people are demanding permanent peace and the politicians and the negotiators on both sides have to deliver," he said.

"That our long night is ending and that the dawn is surely breaking is manifest in the success that has attended our talks in Thailand," he added.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe told the delegates at the Oslo Peace Support conference that the success achieved there would consolidate the peace process and help propel it forward.

He said in a world where some of the promising movements towards peace appeared faltering "our process of which all of you are such vital stakeholders, remains a rare beacon of hope".

The United Kingdom's Secretary of State for International Development Clare Short called for the building of a practical mechanism to translate urgent assistance to Sri Lanka into tangible benefits to the people.

Short and other speakers stressed that the benefits should go to all the people of the country, including the South where a war economy had caused much hardship.

She said that at a time when war clouds gather elsewhere in the world, it was a pleasure to be at a meeting where parties to a long-standing conflict were heading towards a resolution.

The host for the meeting, Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen said that Norway and the international community have now shown that they are "walking beside Sri Lanka" on the path to peace.

Diplomacy, Norwegian style

Organising a meeting where two former belligerents have to sit together is bad enough, but how do you put together a conference at which some of the main participants do not recognise a convening party ?

The Norwegians showed consummate diplomatic skill at the Holmenkollen Hotel yesterday when they had the United States and the United Kingdom, which have banned the LTTE, address a meeting at which the Tigers were present.

The US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and the UK's Clare Short did not address the LTTE when they spoke.

Armitage however did have a stinging message for the LTTE.

This allowed him to sit in at the next session of the conference at which LTTE negotiator Balasingham and Minister Prof. G L Peiris spoke.

Thereafter Armitage left anyway because he had to meet Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe for separate talks.

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