Archives

LTTE rejects Govt proposals

The LTTE has rejected the alternate proposals submitted by the government and criticised it for not specifying the participatory role of the LTTE in the proposed structure for development, rehabilitation and reconstruction of the North East.

In a four page letter addressed to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe LTTE Chief Negotiator and theoretician Anton Balasingham elaborated the differences between the proposals forwarded by the government and their(LTTE's) demands.

In the letter written at the request of LTTE leader Velupiilai Prabhakaran, Balasingham criticised the proposed new structure as a "new apex bureaucracy linked to defunct state agencies, which would not able to carry out the immense humanitarian task of rehabilitation and development efficiently".

The LTTE points out that the government has proposed a development orientated structure with extremely limited administrative powers in which the participatory role of the LTTE is not clearly defined, or rather, left deliberately ambiguous.

"Essentially, what is sought and what is delivered are two different sets of structures", Balasingham added. Balasingham points out that his leader Velupillai Prabhakaran during his deliberations with the Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen, suggested the necessity of an innovative interim administrative structure vested with adequate authority and legal status' with greater participation of the LTTE in both decision making and delivery of the tasks of rebuilding the war damaged economy and restoring normalcy in the Tamil speaking homeland.'

He recalled that in his letter forwarded to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe through Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgessen that they did not elaborate on the powers, functions and mechanisms of the proposed administrative structure. "We entrusted the task of formulating the framework to your government with the hope that you will act with courage and creativity to accommodate the aspirations of our people since your government has an overwhelming mandate from the Sinhala masses to establish an interim administrative structure for the northeast", he added.

He cited the political instability in the south and the failure of the institutions that were formed after series of discussions to fulfill the humanitarian problems faced by hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people as the reasons for the LTTE leadership to be compelled to seek an interim administration.

The letter also states that the "Apex Body has no administrative powers but is only an advisory council whose functions include the formulation and approval of plans, schemes and projects for reconstruction and development.

"Surprisingly, the government document does not refer to any participation by the LTTE in this so-called decision-making body. With regard to the composition and constituting members, para 2 of the proposal states, "The Apex Body shall be constituted in a manner that it reflects the ethnic composition in the North-East and comprise members who are truly representative of the ethnic groups constituting the Northeast." The government has not clearly spelt out as to who are these 'true representatives' of ethnic groups.

It could be assumed that the government is referring to the non-LTTE elected representatives of the Tamil, Muslim and Sinhala people.

"The failure to define the participatory role of the LTTE in the Apex Body is a major flaw in the entire project", he said.

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager