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Why talk to the LTTE?

In four years, the peace process in Sri Lanka has weathered several body blows aimed at it by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam — as it went about extracting maximum advantage from four years of no-war. In the changed situation following the European Union ban, the LTTE no longer has use for a process that will not yield any more concessions unless it delivers on its own commitments to the peace process. This is the reason for the `Oslo communiqué,' the statement the Tigers issued on June 9. Stacked with references to itself as a "de facto state" and justifications for the reaffirmation of its "policy of finding a solution to the Tamil national question based on the realisation of its right to self-determination," the communiqué is a litany of allegations against the Sri Lankan state and complaints against the international community for siding with it. The statement — a kind of ultimatum to Sri Lanka and the countries involved in the peace process — signals the virtual end of the peace process. The LTTE has been working up to this from 2002. The surprise item during this period was the official Oslo announcement of December 5, 2002 in which the terrorist organisation committed itself to exploring a "political solution" to the conflict along federal lines "within a united Sri Lanka." But it reverted to type by repudiating this commitment within two years of making it. At no point after that did the LTTE provide any justification for the hope that it had given up the demand for a settlement based on self-determination, a code word for secession.

Norway tried to keep up such hopes but this indefatigable mediator is also despairing. It is understandably furious that the Tigers went to Oslo fully aware who would represent the Sri Lankan Government, but waited until the last minute to declare that they would not negotiate with a "third-level" delegation. They also knew that the negotiations, which were to focus on the role and safety of the international ceasefire monitors, would include representatives of some European Union member states who are in the truce committee. Perhaps the LTTE believed it would get more mileage out of such drama. In the process, it has only earned further contempt. Norway has asked for written commitments to the peace process from both sides. But it probably knows by now the risks of dealing with an organisation that believes in accountability to no one. Nothing will change unless the LTTE changes its stripes — an impossibility. If the terrorists think they can have their way by forcing a war on the Sri Lankan state, they should know they cannot win. For the Sri Lankan Government, which enjoys unprecedented international goodwill, the only option is to work towards marginalising the LTTE. For this, it must focus on resolving the contradictions in the Sinhala polity and make tangible progress on the planned constitutional reforms to address the genuine grievances of the Sri Lankan Tamils and other minorities.

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