EU travel ban: occasion for rethinking peace strategy

THE European Union's (EU) decision that LTTE will no longer be received in any of its member states signal the increased level of concern of the international community at the deterioration of Sri Lanka's peace process.

The evolving international response reflects the growing role of the international community in resolving internal conflicts where the conflicting parties are unable to resolve their disputes on their own, the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka said.

"When the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE signed the Ceasefire Agreement in February 2002 they both accepted an international facilitative role in the resolution of country's long festering ethnic conflict.

They also gave a public commitment that they would refrain from utilising violence in the pursuit of political objectives.

By entering into an internationally facilitated peace process and by making various commitments to international organisations, both the government and LTTE agreed to observe the Ceasefire Agreement in a satisfactory manner and implicitly undertook to abide by the expectations of the international community, "it said in a release yesterday.

It added: "However, there has been a continuous resort to violence and to human rights abuses that has eroded the credibility of the peace process both locally and internationally.

Civilians, children, politicians, Government informants, LTTE cadre and security force personnel have been amongst the major victims.

These violations have been a primary factor in weakening the peace process and it is in this context that the European Union may have imposed these travel restrictions on the LTTE.

The EU action points to the need to keep strictly within the framework of the Ceasefire Agreement and other agreements reached and promises made whether they be to UNICEF with regard to the treatment of children or the P-TOMS agreement with regard to tsunami relief.

The LTTE's political wing leader S. P. Thamilselvan is reported to have said that the Tamil people are shocked and disappointed by the EU travel ban as being one-sided and having a serious impact on the peace process.

There is also concern that anti-LTTE forces may be encouraged to continue with their own violence against the LTTE, and ultra nationalist parties may feel strengthened and be more determined to block governmental efforts to re-engage with the LTTE.

The Government needs to make every effort to demonstrate its genuine commitment to the Ceasefire Agreement by not associating, either directly or indirectly, with these forces.

The frustration of the international community at the lack of substantial progress in the peace process cannot be ignored by either the LTTE or the Government.

The National Peace Council calls on the LTTE, the Government as well as the candidates at the forthcoming presidential elections and their political parties, to take the recent EU action as an occasion to rethink their strategies to take the peace process forward through constructive engagement between the parties to the conflict.

We note that existing strategies have failed to break the deadlock in the peace process. Demonstrating respect for promises made and agreements reached by the government and LTTE over the past three and a half years would be at the core of a refashioned strategy to achieve peace and fulfill the people's aspirations."