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Not fighting, for now

With the Sri Lankan Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam agreeing to resume direct talks, the country has pulled itself back from the brink of another war, in the nick of time it would seem. Over the last two months, the Tigers were clearly pushing for a resumption of hostilities with a series of attacks on Sri Lankan security forces, in brazen violation of the ceasefire agreement. The plan seemed to be to trigger retaliation. President Mahinda Rajapakse, who has reiterated his firm commitment to the peace process, did not play by the LTTE script and the strategy backfired. The international community came out on the Government's side, praising it for its restraint and censuring the LTTE. Under the circumstances, it could no longer refuse to hold talks with the Government. Since April 2003, it has used one excuse after another to avoid peace talks. The decision to meet in Geneva ends a stand-off over the venue for talks. The LTTE saw in the choice of venue an opportunity to regain lost legitimacy. Thus the insistence on a western capital, a demand that held up the resumption of talks from November 2005. The eventual choice — a western country that has not yet banned the LTTE — is for it a climbdown. This indicates the international pressure the armed extremists have been under to get back to the negotiating table, particularly after Norway declined to host the talks. The facilitator of the peace process is fending off accusations of bias towards the Tigers. The criticism could have been strident had Oslo been chosen as the venue.

The announcement that peace talks are to resume has had an immediate positive outcome: a `truce' within a truce, with the LTTE attacks on the security forces declining at least for now. The rebel leader, Karuna, has also called a `ceasefire' in his covert war against the Tigers. The Vanni leadership has announced that the Geneva negotiations will revolve around its demand for the "full implementation" of the February 2002 ceasefire agreement, including the "disarming of paramilitaries" in north-east Sri Lanka, a veiled reference to its accusation that the Government supports and maintains Karuna. A reworking of the ceasefire does not appear to be on the cards. It is not clear yet what the Government wants from these talks, although it has spoken of a "strengthening" of the ceasefire agreement. Preventing LTTE cadres from attacking soldiers is vital. At Geneva, the Government must also push for a commitment from the LTTE to desist from liquidating political opponents and other undemocratic practices. The larger question is whether the Geneva round can show the way to negotiations on a just and peaceful settlement of the conflict within an undivided Sri Lanka. With the LTTE bent on achieving Eelam by the force of arms, the answer remains uncertain. But for now it is important the two sides talk — so that Sri Lanka is not pushed back into war.

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