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Rajapakse to seek "fresh outlook"

V.S. Sambandan

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Richard A. Boucher, in Colombo on Thursday. — PHOTO: Sriyantha Walpola

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse on Thursday told the visiting U.S. Undersecretary for South and Central Asia Richard A. Boucher that he would seek a "fresh outlook" on a negotiated political settlement for the island-nation's decades-long separatist conflict.

Mr. Rajapakse, who met Mr. Boucher in Colombo said he would ask an all-party conference (scheduled for Friday) "to work out suitable proposals for devolution of power."

All-party conference

The President would "ask the all-party conference to have a fresh outlook into this matter, and arrive at consensus on proposals that could be placed before the LTTE for negotiation," an official release said. Mr. Rajapakse also emphasised that the "failure of earlier proposals to solve this crisis was because they did not have the agreement of the LTTE, and it would not be practicable to impose any unilateral solution, without agreement with the LTTE."

The "frank and cordial exchange of views" between Mr. Rajapakse and Mr. Boucher lasted over an hour, a senior Presidential source told The Hindu . Senior Sri Lankan officials and the U.S. envoy to Sri Lanka, were present during the meeting. On the nature of the negotiated political outcome, Mr. Rajapakse explained the need "to seek a Sri Lankan solution and not be confined to the solutions in other countries." However, he "did not rule out the possibility of some of those solutions being suitable in the Sri Lankan context," the Presidential office statement said. The President also explained to Mr. Boucher that the LTTE would also have to "look at the present opportunity to arrive at a negotiated settlement and come for discussions." It will also have to understand that "acts of violence such as massacres of civilians, attacks on children, Human Rights violations and the tactics of terror cannot achieve the desired results for the Tamils."

Earlier, addressing the American Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Boucher, said the U.S. welcomed "the E.U.'s decision to list the LTTE as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation."

"As we've said many times and will continue to say, the Tamil Tigers must renounce terror in word and deed, stop the violence and recognise that the only solution to the conflict in Sri Lanka is a political one."

Assuring Washington's continued support to Sri Lanka to "combat terror," he said: "we will do whatever we can to help the sovereign Sri Lankan Government in its struggle against this menace." Mr. Boucher ruled out a military solution to the conflict. However, he said the U.S. military assistance was "not to encourage a return to war," but was "meant to help Sri Lanka deter a return to war." He said the U.S. was working with other governments to "cut off financing of terrorist groups, including the Tigers."

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