May magnanimity reign

COMING immediately prior to the Government-LTTE ceasefire talks which get off the ground in Geneva today, President Mahinda Rajapakse's hope that these deliberations would lead to a resolution of the conflict and enable his administration to create a better tomorrow for the generations which follow, irrespective of differences, is a thought worth dwelling on.

The President has repeatedly underscored the need for peaceful co-existence among the country's ethnic, language and religious groups and we hope this would prove a fillip to result-oriented talks in Geneva today. As we see it, the message in the President's pronouncement is that Sri Lanka should be made a haven of peaceful co-existence among our communities and that magnanimity of spirit should reign in this land. Hopefully, these sentiments would set the tone for the ceasefire talks.

It would be naive to presume that the problems confronting Sri Lanka could be summarily settled at these talks. We have miles to go before we could enjoy some respite from our travails but we hope the foundation would be laid in Geneva for a resumption of the peace process.

A key to the success of these initial talks is the mutual accommodation of each others legitimate needs by the State and the LTTE.

It is absolutely essential that the LTTE puts an end to its round of bloodletting with a view to making the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) effective and meaningful, while the State ensures the disarming of certain armed formations.

President Rajapakse has made it clear that he is for ensuring the latter task and we hope the two sides would arrive at an accord at carrying out these chores effectively.

The LTTE should also be sentisized to the need to respect the rights of all the communities residing in the North-East and it is high time the peace talks facilitators thought of ways and means of tying down the Tigers to their human rights obligations.

Right now, the ceasefire seems to be very much a one-sided affair with the Security Forces largely holding their fire but the Tigers savagely running amok. Obviously, the loopholes which permit such abuses and anomalies should be effectively plugged at these talks.

The parties to the conflict - besides the State and the LTTE - need to have a good grasp of the magnitude of issues at stake. The State should enjoy the ready backing of all relevant quarters in Southern Sri Lanka in particular as it makes an effort to relaunch the peace drive.

Fortunately, a wide consensus has been reached in Southern Sri Lanka on the advisability of arriving at a political solution and on talking to the Tigers.

The next important issue which needs positive consideration is the working out of a solution which would meet the legitimate needs and aspirations of the Tamil people.

A simple rule of the thumb to decide on what is legitimate and what is illegitimate is to consider what is prized most by human groups anywhere. A few of these are: food security, a suitable habitat, emotional and physical security, livelihoods and acceptance by the 'Other'.

If the parties to the conflict realise that their essential needs hardly differ, working out the basic parameters of a solution would not prove difficult provided they are guided by a spirit of impartiality and fairness.