The Hindu : LTTE's track record does not hold out much hope: experts

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Sep 28, 2003

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LTTE's track record does not hold out much hope: experts

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI SEPT. 27. Experts and analysts today expressed cautious optimism at the on-going Sri Lankan peace process, but said the record of the Liberation Tigers during the current `no-war' phase did not hold out too much hope.

They expressed their appreciation for the Indian position on the issue and said the role of an "interested observer" best suited the country now. The speakers at a seminar on `Sri Lanka: One year after the peace accord,' organised by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) here, also commented on the presence of too many international players in the on-going process.

The ORF Institute of Asian Studies president, M. Rasgotra, said the LTTE had not maintained the status quo during the peace process and had increased recruitment and arms procurement.

At best, the existing situation was an "armed truce," he said and added that he was not too sure if this negative peace could hold on indefinitely transforming itself into a permanent peace. A much more active process was needed.

The Peradeniya University professor of political science, Gamini Samaranayake, said the immediate objective of the LTTE was not peace, but an interim administration in the north and the east.

Whether the concept of a negotiated settlement within the framework of a united Sri Lanka was acceptable to the LTTE remained ambiguous. "Historically, there have been several periods of ceasefire and peace negotiations, but the LTTE has unilaterally violated these agreements. The LTTE has not taken a counter-stand to its demand for an Eelam State, or its armed struggle to achieve it," he added.

The Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu, N. Ram, said that it was "pretty obvious for a long time" that the solution could only be the adoption of a federal structure. "The details could be discussed."

But the overarching issue was the track record of the LTTE, which was uncompromisingly committed to Eelam, had defined that territory and had proclaimed that this could be achieved only through an armed struggle. ``Never have they vacillated on this point," he said and added that the LTTE wanted a ``Pol Potist'' State where no other political party would be allowed to survive. But "simply because there is nothing else, we will have to support the peace process," he said. He cautioned against reading too much into the LTTE's posture on the interim administration and said the formation of such an administration " does not indicate the contours of a final political solution."

The former Director, Madras University Centre for South and Southeast Asian Studies, V.Suryanarayan, said that Colombo was negotiating with an organisation that was administrating a `de-facto State.' "The LTTE, will not, in the near future, agree to any arrangement which would involve the laying down of arms and demobilisation of the armed forces," he said and added that the irony of the current situation in the event of a federal set-up emerging as a solution, was that in no federal state in the world were the units permitted to raise their own armed forces.

The Executive Director of the Colombo-based Centre for Policy Alternatives, P. Saravanamuthu, said that Sri Lanka now had the best chance for building peace in the last two decades.

The LTTE wanted forward movement in the peace process since the longer the current situation lasted, the more likely it was that the LTTE would also be held responsible for the lack of progress. The LTTE's counter-proposals on an interim administration would be their first set of official proposals on any aspect of a political settlement.

The Ullas Trust Executive Director, R.Hariharan, said that since no political group had the strength to move a constitutional amendment bill in the Sri Lankan Parliament, nobody appeared to be in a hurry. India's attitudes and postures were important in sustaining peace or war in Sri Lanka, he said.

The ORF president, K.K.Nayyar, said that Sri Lanka was not just another neighbour; it had close cultural and historic ties with India. The ORF intended to publish the proceedings of the seminar.

The Sri Lankan Deputy High Commissioner in Chennai, Sumith Nakandala, chaired the session on `reconciling various ethnic aspirations' and the Director, Marga Institute, Colombo, Devanesan Nesiah, outlined the aspirations from the Sri Lankan viewpoint.

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