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The parameters of peace

It is not so much pledges of immediate and long-term financial assistance to Sri Lanka, from sections of the international community, which have made the Oslo conference on support for Sri Lanka's peace process, memorable. On the contrary, it is the coming together of countries, some of them which rank as the most powerful states, for the purpose of supporting Lanka's search for peace, which is heartening.

As we commented yesterday and the day before, referring to Kampuchea and post-war Germany, it is international backing, among other crucial factors, which contribute towards the consolidation of a peace process, particularly when it has an international dimension. As far as Sri Lanka is concerned, international backing for our peace effort seems to be gathering thick and fast.

The proof of this was the warm support extended to this country by nearly forty countries at the Oslo peace conference. As our staffer on the spot expressed it, these countries ranged from "Australia to Iceland". As vital as the financial and material support extended to us would be the strong moral commitment of these countries to help in the task of bringing peace to Sri Lanka. This factor, no less than our will to help ourselves, would prove crucial in perpetuating the peace process.

While US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, through his call to the LTTE to publicly abandon its armed struggle for a separate state, underlined a prime requirement of the world community, Lankan Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe once again, underscored the need for swift, fruitful negotiations which would lead to a permanent peace. "The people are demanding permanent peace and the politicians and the negotiators on both sides have to deliver," the Premier was quoted saying.

In saying this the Lankan Prime Minister reflects an astute awareness of the dominant public mood. The people want permanent peace and they want it fast. In this respect the Premier could be said to be streets ahead of the critics of the peace process. While it is clear that no one would want peace at the cost of the national interest, the likelihood is also great that the people would vehemently shun opportunistic politics which aim at causing public disaffection over perceived limitations in the peace process. They wouldn't be throwing the baby out with the bath water. Right now, the majority of the people are likely to bear with the peace-makers of this country until a durable and just peace is realised.

However exacting challenges await the main parties to the peace process. The nature of these challenges were outlined by the states offering assistance at the end of the talks. They said that lasting peace should be built on, "renunciation of violence and respect for the principles of human rights, democracy, rule of law and the rights of minorities".

This is the stuff that democratic polities are built of. It is clear that the world community wouldn't be impressed by any constitutional and political order that falls below these democratic norms. In the days ahead, then, the Lankan negotiators need to bear these norms in mind while working towards the final settlement.

In fact, there is nothing new in these reminders of the essentials of peace. Most right-thinking persons realise that no permanent solution to our problem would be possible outside the core values of democracy. For instance, it stands to reason that the rights of all communities must be upheld in the search for peace. It is equally crucial that the Rule of Law should reign in the emerging dispensation. These are the parameters within which peace must be found.

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