Tuesday, Mar 08, 2005
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By V.S. Sambandan
COLOMBO, MARCH 7 . The Sri Lankan President, Chandrika Kumaratunga, today urged the European Union (E.U.) to persuade the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to return to the negotiating table "without procrastination". During a meeting with the visiting E.U. Commissioner for External Relations, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the President said the LTTE was "co-operative in several ways in addressing the needs of the tsunami affected in that part of the country." Briefing Ms. Ferrero-Waldner on the "the current moves to establish a negotiated and lasting settlement to the conflict within the framework of Oslo Declaration," Ms. Kumaratunga said she was "confident such negotiations could commence sooner rather than later." However, "certain contentious issues needed to be ironed out." Ms. Ferrero-Waldner, a former Austrian Foreign Minister, expressed hope that "humanitarian assistance flowing into Sri Lanka would reach the needy ".
World Bank denial
In another development, the World Bank is in the midst of a controversy over remarks attributed to its Country Director, Peter Harrold, on the status of the LTTE. The Sunday Times, in a report published on March 6, quoted Mr. Harrold as referring to the LTTE-controlled areas as a "kind of unofficial state." The ruling Left-nationalist ruling coalition ally, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), condemned the reported comment as a challenge to Sri Lanka's sovereignty, and demanded its withdrawal. In a denial, the World Bank today said Mr. Harrold had never used the phrase "unofficial state" and that he was "misquoted." The World Bank, he asserted, did not recognise the LTTE-held areas as an unofficial state. "A careful review of a recording of the interview shows that what I said was that `given that there is such a thing as the LTTE-controlled area — that's an official statement, an officially recognised part of the country is the LTTE-controlled area'. There is an enormous difference between recognising the LTTE's role in this process (which we and the Government do) and recognising an unofficial state, which we do not," Mr. Harrold said.
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