05-05-2004, 09:45 AM
Chandrika faces major split in new alliance
<b>By Sinha Ratnatunga
Correspondent</b>
Colombo: President Chandrika Kumaratunga yesterday faced the tough choice of ceding to rebel Tamil Tiger (LTTE) demands to resume peace talks and thus face a major split in her newly formed Freedom Alliance (UPFA).
What was easily her biggest political challenge, since her coalition won the April 2 parliamentary elections, was when Norwegian peace brokers returned after talks with rebel leaders in the Wanni jungles north east of Sri Lanka to deliver her their major demands to return for talks.
Norwegian special envoy Eric Solheim conveyed to Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar the latest rebel demands to re-start negotiations with the Colombo government.
Main among them is the proposal for an interim self-governing authority (ISGA) in the island's north and east under their control being the sole basis for any future negotiations. The rebels have rejected a Sri Lanka government request to hold talks within the country and insisted that Norway should continue to play the role of peace facilitator.
However, an official Presidential Secretariat statement issued this afternoon gave a completely different picture when it said that the rebels had attached no pre-conditions for peace talks to resume and that the LTTE is "fully prepared to talk to the government at a time convenient to the government".
The statement also said that the Norwegian brokers "remained optimistic " that talks could re-commence early, though a formal statement issued by the Royal Norwegian embassy in Colombo the day before cautioned of any early resumption of negotiations.
The contradictions have taken diplomats and political observers by surprise here. The rebel demands, among others, are at variance with the position taken up by the Peoples Liberation Front (JVP), the constituent partner of the President Kumaratunga led Freedom Alliance. The JVP has held the ISGA proposal as a stepping-stone towards a separate state.
<b>By Sinha Ratnatunga
Correspondent</b>
Colombo: President Chandrika Kumaratunga yesterday faced the tough choice of ceding to rebel Tamil Tiger (LTTE) demands to resume peace talks and thus face a major split in her newly formed Freedom Alliance (UPFA).
What was easily her biggest political challenge, since her coalition won the April 2 parliamentary elections, was when Norwegian peace brokers returned after talks with rebel leaders in the Wanni jungles north east of Sri Lanka to deliver her their major demands to return for talks.
Norwegian special envoy Eric Solheim conveyed to Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar the latest rebel demands to re-start negotiations with the Colombo government.
Main among them is the proposal for an interim self-governing authority (ISGA) in the island's north and east under their control being the sole basis for any future negotiations. The rebels have rejected a Sri Lanka government request to hold talks within the country and insisted that Norway should continue to play the role of peace facilitator.
However, an official Presidential Secretariat statement issued this afternoon gave a completely different picture when it said that the rebels had attached no pre-conditions for peace talks to resume and that the LTTE is "fully prepared to talk to the government at a time convenient to the government".
The statement also said that the Norwegian brokers "remained optimistic " that talks could re-commence early, though a formal statement issued by the Royal Norwegian embassy in Colombo the day before cautioned of any early resumption of negotiations.
The contradictions have taken diplomats and political observers by surprise here. The rebel demands, among others, are at variance with the position taken up by the Peoples Liberation Front (JVP), the constituent partner of the President Kumaratunga led Freedom Alliance. The JVP has held the ISGA proposal as a stepping-stone towards a separate state.
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