The Hindu : Sri Lankan Government, Norway mum

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Mar 05, 2004

International

International

Sri Lankan Government, Norway mum

COLOMBO, MARCH 4. Sri Lanka's peace facilitators, Norway, the Government, and the Opposition were today guarded in the reactions to the most serious internal rift in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Political reactions here emphasised the importance of the continuation of the ceasefire agreement, which is in place for two years — the longest run since bloody armed conflict started between armed Tamil militants and the Sri Lankan Government in the early 1980s.

The facilitators, Norway, on the scene since the late 1990s, said they would apply the same yardstick to the Tigers as they did to Colombo last year when a cohabitation crisis put the peace process formally on hold. "We will keep out of the LTTE's internal crisis in the same way as we had kept away from Sri Lanka's southern political crisis'', a senior Norwegian official told The Hindu . Maintaining complete silence on the issues involved, the facilitator was neither willing to confirm or deny reports, which swarmed Colombo since last night. "No comment is our only comment'', the Norwegian embassy said.

The Sri Lankan Government and the Opposition United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA), for their part, were restrained in their comments on the LTTE's internal rift and expressed hope that the ceasefire agreement was not under threat. The Government spokesman and Colombo's Chief Negotiator, G.L. Peiris, said there were "no indications'' that the ceasefire was under threat. "As far as we are concerned, these are rumblings,'' the Opposition spokesman, Mangala Samaraweera, said, expressing hope that the peace process would continue. Tamil political leaders reacted along predictable lines, with those backing the LTTE saying that the crisis would blow over. The LTTE's internal spat comes just ahead of next month's Parliamentary elections in which the rebels are backing the four-party Tamil National Alliance (TNA).

The TNA is seeking a mandate on the twin planks of the LTTE being the "sole representative of the Tamil-speaking people'' and "resumption of peace talks'' with the LTTE's recent proposals for an `Interim Self-Governing Authority for the North-East' as the basis for negotiations.

Along predictable lines, TNA political sources say the LTTE's rift would not change voter behaviour, while opponents of the TNA say the public spat among the rebels would affect the pro-rebel Alliance's electoral prospects.

Solheim to visit Sri Lanka

The Norwegian Special Envoy, Erik Solheim, is scheduled to arrive here next week for a ground-level appraisal of the situation.

On Wednesday, when the LTTE's internal rift became public, Mr. Solheim, a key facilitator since the commencement of the Norwegian role, told the BBC that there is a ``new situation in the east.''

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