'Peace must be built on commitment'
Excerpts of a speech by Mangala Samaraweera to the Committee on
Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament March 20, 2006
ADDRESSING: Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera addressing the
European Parliament in Brussels on March 20, 2006. Also seen are
Ambassador Designate of Sri Lanka to Belgium and to the European
Communities K. J. Weerasinghe (left) and Toomas Hendrik Ilves,
Vice-Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the European
Parliament.
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SPEECH: I am here at a time when many positive developments are
taking place in my country especially in relation to the peace process.
The Government has just concluded a round of talks with the
Liberation Tigers of the Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Geneva after a lapse of
nearly three years, and the next round of talks are scheduled for late
April.
Since the signing of the Ceasefire Agreement in February 2002, there
have been continued Ceasefire violations.
The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) has ruled that 3519
violations against the LTTE, which include child abductions, political
assassinations, collection of illegal taxes and other violations. This
is as opposed to 163 violations attributed to the Government of Sri
Lanka as at January 31, 2006.
It is no secret that the LTTE has continued to use the Ceasefire
Agreement as a convenient cover for strengthening of its military
capability. For instance they have constructed an airstrip and have now
acquired aviation assets.
Following the assassination of my predecessor, the late minister
Lakshman Kadirgamar, the Government reiterated the necessity for "an
urgent meeting between the Government and the LTTE to review the
practical functioning of the ceasefire with a view to preventing further
killings and other violations."
In the face of international condemnation of the Kadirgamar
assassination, the LTTE agreed to the talks, but an agreement on a venue
proved to be more difficult to achieve.
Immediately upon assuming office in November 2005, President Mahinda
Rajapakse called for the commencement of direct negotiations with the
LTTE based on the principles of democracy, human rights, transparency
and pragmatism.
President Rajapakse also emphasised the importance of observing the
Ceasefire and conveyed to the LTTE through the Norwegian facilitators on
the need for a meaningful ceasefire.
A mere ten days after President Rajapakse assumed office in November
last year, the LTTE initiated a series of provocative attacks targeting
Security Forces personnel. Between December 4, 2005 and January 22,
2006, the LTTE carried out nine major attacks claiming the lives of 77
Security Forces and 09 Police personnel.
The major attacks included claymore mine explosions on vehicular
convoys, firing at an airborne helicopter that was en route to transport
the Deputy Foreign Minister of Italy, Mrs. Margherita Boniver, an attack
on a Navy dingy and a suicide attack on a Navy Fast Attack Craft.
These attacks were carried out with surgical precision, leaving no
room for doubt about the LTTE's involvement despite their claims to the
contrary.
The SLMM stated "the LTTE claims that the people are behind the
attacks on the military. The SLMM finds this explanation unacceptable.
It is also safe to say that the LTTE involvement cannot be ruled out and
we find the LTTE indifference to these attacks worrying".
Despite such severe provocations, President Mahinda Rajapakse
displayed great restraint and patience confounding many critics who
tried to portray the President as a 'Hawk' or 'Hardliner' in the run up
to the November election.
On the issue of a venue, the Government showed flexibility on five
occasions. The Government's initial offer to hold talks in Colombo and
the second offer of Omanthai in the Zone of Separation were rejected
outright by the LTTE.
The proposal of Bandaranaike International Airport in Sri Lanka as a
venue, suggested by the Norwegians, was also met with the disapproval of
the LTTE. Then the Government proposed an Asian venue, and further to
this Japan offered to host talks. The LTTE rejected both these proposals
as well.
The EU declaration in September last year imposing travel
restrictions and expressing active consideration of listing the LTTE had
a compelling effect on them to demonstrate a level of flexibility and
agree to the resumption of talks.
However they continued to use the venue as an issue of contention. In
fact the delaying tactics adopted by the LTTE, prompted the Co-chairs to
issue a statement from Brussels on December 19 warning them of "serious
consequences" if the LTTE did not resume negotiations immediately.
This was followed a strong message made by the US Under Secretary for
Political Affairs Nicholas Burns during his visit to Colombo in January
this year.
"The government is democratic, the government is composed of people
who are responsible.... Our major concern is with the LTTE. There is no
moral comparison, no moral equivalency, that we see between the
government and the LTTE, and we think the major part of the burden for
peace rests on that organisation."
Mounting criticism by the international community on the intransigent
conduct of the LTTE was instrumental in changing their disposition
towards talks. In late January when the Norwegian International
Development Cooperation Minister Erik Solheim met the LTTE, they
expressed their willingness to resume talks and agreed to Geneva as the
venue.
The outcome of the Geneva talks is reflected in the joint statement
issued by the Government and the LTTE, as well as through a number of
other factors, perhaps not reflected in the statement. For instance
there was an immediate de-escalation of violence following the
announcement of the dates for talks, which continues to date.
Even before the commencement of talks, a number of technical issues
were addressed amicably in Geneva. For instance, sequencing of speakers,
subjects for discussion, and numbers on delegations were all
successfully resolved with our facilitators.
While the opening statements made by the Government and the LTTE
raised a number of issues of concern, only two issues were discussed at
some length during the talks: I) Child conscription and II) Killings,
attacks on security forces and armed groups.
We are confident that the initial talks will provide a firm
foundation for further discussion on these two issues as well as others.
As mentioned in the final statement, the Government and the LTTE
agreed to continue talking and fixed dates for the next round of talks
in April.
As a new government negotiating with the LTTE for the first time, an
agreement to meet again must in itself be seen as a significant
achievement.
It is also an acknowledgement by both parties for a need for further
political engagement. In our view, the talks have established new
benchmarks of behaviour which can be considered an additional element
towards making the ceasefire more meaningful
A unique and unprecedented feature of the peace process under
President Rajapakse has been its truly consultative nature.
Immediately after assuming office, the President initiated policy
talks first with his coalition partners - the JVP, and the JHU, as well
as other opposition parties. The outcome of these consultations has been
positive with all parties pledging their support to the President's
peace effort.
Prior to and following the Geneva talks, the President convened All
Party Conference to build a national consensus on the peace process.
This forum has provided an opportunity to inform all political
parties represented in Parliament on the progress made at the talks as
well as providing them an opportunity to express their views and
concerns.
The Government strongly believes that seeking consensus amongst the
"democratic polity" is a pre-requisite to any lasting solution.
To quote President Rajapakse "peace must be built on commitments that
can be delivered in full. It is towards this end that I build consensus
within the political landscape, so that the agreements that we reach at
peace talks are fully deliverable."
The President, will continue to engage all political parties,
religious leaders and civil society on matters concerning the peace
process. The government takes pride in the fact that the Government's
participation at the talks was with the consent and support of all
political parties in Sri Lanka.
This is a delicate process and that is why the international
community must be extremely sensitive to the nuances and complexities of
the Sri Lankan political landscape when dealing with the LTTE during
this critical period.
The international community must therefore be mindful of such
sensitivities. Any over enthusiastic patronage of the LTTE even before
they have renounced violence not even by word will create unnecessary
perception problems within the Sri Lankan polity.
The international community must continue with its "velvet glove"
policy, firm but polite, to ensure that the LTTE enters the democratic
mainstream. Just as the Government has been dealing with them in a
spirit of flexibility and compromise, the LTTE too must be told in no
uncertain terms they must respond in the same spirit.
I would like to take this opportunity thank the international
community for the interest and support extended by them for our peace
building efforts and for being friends of Sri Lanka's peace process.
A special word of thanks is due to the European Union, which has
played a significant role in this regard as a member of the Co-Chair
group together with the United States, Norway and Japan. We also
appreciate India's involvement with the Co-chairs in an exchange of
views at the recent Co-chairs meeting in Brussels.
The challenge now is to ensure the continuity of the talks and to
engage the LTTE in discussions until such time we reach a lasting
solution to the present conflict. Since 1985, as you know, from Thimpu
onwards, each time the Government tried to negotiate, the LTTE has
played truant, and left the negotiating table on some flimsy excuse.
Now, the international community must impress upon them that such
excuses would no longer be tolerated and whatever problems that may
arise in the days ahead, the best forum to solve such differences is at
the negotiating table with the powers of persuasion and not in the
jungles of Vanni with guns and bullets.
As Sri Lanka prepares for local government election, it is time to
reflect on the fact that democratic rights enjoyed by the citizens of
Asia's oldest democracy, Sri Lanka received universal franchise in 1931,
are no longer available to the average Tamil person living in the North
and the East.
Without ever having directly participated in any of Sri Lanka's
elections, the LTTE has, over the past two decades, attempted to
influence the outcome of every presidential or parliamentary election in
the country by killing candidates and intimidating voters in the
North-East even enforcing a boycott.
The LTTE has systematically killed more than 70 Tamil politicians
from Alfred Duraiappa, Mayor of Jaffna in 1975, to Foreign Minister
Lakshman Kadirgamar in 2005, who dared to voice their support for
devolution of power and a non-separatist solution to the conflict.
Even the leader of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), one of
the largest democratic Tamil political parties, Mr. Anandasangaree, who
is here in the audience today, is unable to return to visit his
constituents in the North due to LTTE death threats.
The EU in its report on the Presidential election of November 2005
stated that polling in the South proceeded satisfactorily, however
voting in the North and the East was marred by violence accompanied by
an enforced boycott by the LTTE resulting in extremely low voter
participation in many areas.
The Government of Sri Lanka calls on the international community to
impress upon on the LTTE on the need to ensure that citizens of the
North and East be given an opportunity to exercise their franchise
within a framework of democratic pluralism.
The LTTE has been permitted to conduct political work in the North
and East, and the Government expects that all other political parties
will also be able to conduct political activity in these areas.
The Government is gravely concerned by the intolerance to any
democratic dissent shown by the LTTE even four years after the
Ceasefire, and this certainly will be raised for discussion in future
Ceasefire talks. The countries in the West have been a lucrative source
of financing to the LTTE.
In Europe now we see that the LTTE is advancing to a more
sophisticated stage of fixed income generation. All Sri Lankan Tamil
families in Europe are being systematically registered and assigned a
unique PIN number.
The LTTE is collecting information including their family details in
Sri Lanka, income status and subscription to LTTE's satellite television
channel. This information is to be used as a form of illegal tax
assessment in which each family will be required to make a stipulated
monthly contribution.
Citizens of Sri Lankan Tamil origin from European Union countries,
visiting areas where there is a predominant LTTE presence have been
subject to harassment for the lack of a PIN Number or for not making the
stipulated contribution.
In an article published in "Le Figaro", of December 2, 2005, a French
citizen of Tamil origin described how the LTTE accessed all his personal
details at an LTTE check point in Sri Lanka with his PIN number and
confiscated his French passport until his family in France agreed to pay
up the outstanding amount.
We urge the European Union takes note and end this systematic
registration of the Tamil population in Europe in the context of its own
regulatory framework on the protection of personal data and in the
larger context of financing terrorism. Stopping this process would
effectively constrain the harassment of Sri Lankan Tamils in Europe by
the LTTE.
On March 15, a ground breaking independent study by a well-known
organisation, the Human Rights Watch has been released, giving a
detailed account of the systematic and widespread extortion of funds by
the LTTE and its front organisations in Europe and North America.
We request the EU to continue to move forward from its position
relating to the LTTE as stated in the EU declaration of September 26,
2005 in progressing towards a sanctions regime within the European Union
territory so as to prevent funding, promoting and the incitement of
terrorism.
Having said that, I would like to state that despite the dilemma of
having to negotiate with a group who has yet to renounce terrorism and
violence, Sri Lanka remains fully committed to a negotiated political
solution to achieve durable peace in Sri Lanka.
We still believe the LTTE are a part of the Sri Lankan polity. Even
for a moment, ladies and gentlemen, we cannot forget that those underage
combatants, with cyanide capsules hanging around their necks, are also
children of our land.
They have had their childhood and innocence snatched away at an
impossibly young age, fighting for a cause most probably they do not
even comprehend.
The innocent Tamils who are trapped in the North, who can neither
afford an air ticket overseas nor have the freedom to move elsewhere in
Sri Lanka, are our citizens too. They also must have the opportunity to
live in peace and reap the benefits of democracy and freedom that the
rest of the country enjoys.
The EU, by itself and as a Co-chair has always been supportive of the
peace process and helpful in efforts to resume Talks.
Now that the Talks have commenced, I have no doubt that the EU and
other friends of Sri Lanka will continue to extend support, being
mindful of the sensitivity and vulnerability of the delicate efforts the
Government to bring back peace to all Sri Lankans living in our country,
until it matures into a final solution.
We hope that in the not too distant future, the day will come when
the LTTE will renounce separatism and violence and embrace the rule of
law and democratic pluralism.
This will be the day, when all peace loving Sri Lankans will roll out
the red carpet and welcome the LTTE into the multi ethnic, multi
cultural family that is Sri Lanka. |