At a recent briefing for 16 EU Ambassadors based in New Delhi, concurrently accredited to Sri Lanka, a Senior Minister of Sri Lanka addressed some issues of recent concerns of the international community. SPUR New Zealand believes that he has clarified the thinking of the Government of Sri Lanka on several important issues and decided to reproduce the news reports for the benefit of those who are interested in the current political developments in Sri Lanka.
Excerpts of the briefing made by Prof G L Piers, the Minister for Export Development and International Trade, who was a Professor of Law before he accepted the invitation of a previous Head of State to become a Minister, taken from Sri Lankan News papers are quoted below.
Sri Lanka Government did not believe in a military solution to the conflict, but terrorism required a military response. There would be a military response to the terror perpetrated by the LTTE and a political process to address the problems of the minorities. The basic characteristic of a political solution would be the devolution of power subject to the protection of the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Peiris who had led the GoSL delegation for talks with the LTTE from Sept. 2002 to March 2003 offered the following thoughts on why attempts by successive governments had not yielded a favorable result. There is a disconnect between the proposed measures and the thoughts and feelings of the public of Sri Lanka mainly due to some aspects of the behaviour of the LTTE that are quoted below.
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For success, one had to inspire the confidence of the majority. The LTTE was never prepared to discuss the decommissioning of arms as was the case of in successful peace processes in other parts of the world such as Northern Ireland.
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The LTTE insisted that it was the sole representatives of the Tamils. This claim involved a conflict with basic democratic values and assumptions.
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The LTTE did not want to participate at elections and subject themselves to the people's mandate.
Looking for options to generate political momentum, GoSL felt that it should not engage in discussions regarding futile arrangements, which cannot be implemented, such as changing the Constitution which required a two thirds majority in parliament. Given Sri Lanka's electoral system, (Note: Which is similar to MMP system in New Zealand) it is unlikely that any government in the foreseeable future would command such a 2/3 majority. Moreover, far-reaching statutory changes may not be immediately needed, because implementation of the laws that exist through political will and sincerity would enable considerable progress to be made.
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