Asia-Pacific, Europe, Headlines, Human Rights

SRI LANKA: Failure for Government and Rebels, Again

Gustavo Capdevila

GENEVA, Oct 30 2006 (IPS) - A second round of negotiations for a peace accord between the government of Sri Lanka and the Tamil rebels ended in Geneva without agreement between the two sides, who have been involved in a civil war for over three decades.

The talks, convened by the Norwegian government and hosted by Switzerland, were considered a failure by diplomatic sources because the parties in conflict separated without even agreeing a date for a future meeting. Nor was a joint final statement adopted..

The main apparent differences are focused on opening the A9 highway, which the government closed in a move criticised by the rebels, as it is the most direct way of bringing in supplies to the Jaffna peninsula, the embattled stronghold of the separatist group in the north of the country.

Since the first negotiations in Switzerland, in February, the military conflict between the forces of the Colombo government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has worsened.

Peace broker Erik Solheim, the Norwegian minister of International Development, said that the outbreaks of violence since then have led to the internal displacement of more than 200,000 people.

Between 1,000 and 2,000 people died in those clashes, as many as in Lebanon, said Solheim, referring to the war fought between Lebanon and Israel from Jul. 12 to Aug. 14.

The armed actions launched by the LTTE with the purpose of securing control over territories in the north and east of Sri Lanka for the Tamil minority have caused the death of at least 65,000 civilians and soldiers since they began in 1972.

More than 70 percent of Sri Lanka&#39s population of 18 million are Sinhalese, most of whom are Buddhist, and 18 percent are Tamils, descended from people in the south of India, who practice Hinduism and make up the majority of the population in the north and east of the country.

The Tamil Tigers are now seeking autonomy within the framework of a federal republic.

The international community was growing impatient at the increased violence and its consequences – serious human rights violations and other suffering and deprivation among the local populace – Solheim warned the two delegations meeting in Geneva.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, reported to U.N. human rights bodies for the first time in September on the abuses in Sri Lanka attributed to the parties in conflict.

Arbour&#39s report, presented at the last session of the U.N. Human Rights Council, was endorsed by statements from human rights institutions and independent experts.

Solheim recalled on Sunday, in his closing remarks, that the international community has repeatedly said that it expects the parties to show moderation and live up to their ceasefire commitments, adopted in 2002, and not to launch new military offensives.

The head of the government delegation, Nimal Siripala de Silva, minister of Health in Sri Lanka, reaffirmed the will of the regular forces to respect the ceasefire agreed during the first negotiations held in Geneva.

In turn, the chief of the political wing of the Tigers, S.P. Thamilselvan, said that full implementation of the ceasefire and strengthening the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) would normalise people&#39s lives in the territories in dispute, and would bolster the peace process.

Declarations of this kind were the basis for Solheim&#39s statement that the two days of talks in Geneva had had some positive aspects.

However, the mediator acknowledged that no agreement had been reached to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the north and east, which have been the worst hit by the deepening of the conflict.

The LTTE asked for the reopening of highway A9, but the government refused, said the Norwegian official.

Minister De Silva said the government was willing to supply food and other provisions to the people of Jaffna by sea.

The LTTE objected that this would be like feeding prisoners. The rebels maintain that closure of the A9 has converted the Jaffna peninsula into a prison for its 600,000 inhabitants.

Thamilselvan likened the closure of the A9 to the building of a new Berlin Wall.

De Silva insisted that provisioning by sea transport will be used until the Muhamalai control point on the A9, damaged in the warfare, is repaired. He emphasised that the work should be carried out with proper protection for the civilian population.

Thamilselvan said he was not satisfied with the government&#39s explanations for refusing to reopen the A9, and attributed it to a secret military strategy on their part.

De Silva said that the LTTE had turned down a proposal for a date for further talks. The government remains ready and willing to meet at any time in the interests of coming up with a solution, he said.

In contrast, Thamilselvan said that the LTTE had accepted setting a date for the next round of talks, but asked that the A9 highway be opened before they take place.

In closing, Solheim said that Norway would continue in dialogue with the parties, to discuss every possible idea on how to promote the peace process.