Furthermore,
the LTTE will ensure that the activities of their
law and order mechanisms will not be extended beyond
the areas dominated by the LTTE.
The parties strongly
underlined the need to move rapidly on humanitarian
and rehabilitation efforts in the North and East.
For this purpose, the early establishment of the North-East
Reconstruction Fund will be critical. The parties
agreed that the custodian of the fund should be selected
and modalities for its operation agreed at the next
meeting of the Sub-Committee on Immediate Humanitarian
and Rehabilitation Needs. The parties expressed their
appreciation of the strong support extended to the
peace process by several governments at the Sri Lanka
Support Meeting held in Oslo on 25 November, and urged
these governments to rapidly release funds needed
for humanitarian and rehabilitation efforts.
The parties agreed
that a committee of women will be instituted to explore
the affects and conclusions of gender issues in the
peace process. This committee will also on a regular
basis, submit proposals relating to women’s
interests to the sessions of negotiations and to the
sub-committees of the peace process. The committee
will consist of four representatives of each party.
As a priority area
identified by the parties for humanitarian action,
the parties stressed the need to improve the situation
for children affected by armed conflict. Inspired
by the international norms protecting the rights of
the child, the parties underlined that children belong
with their families or other custodians and not in
the workplace, whether civilian or military. The LTTE
will engage in a partnership with the United Nations
Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to draw up an action
plan for restoring normalcy to the lives of children,
and the parties called on the international community
to provide financial support for such an action plan.
The GOSL will, in
order to arrive at the broadest possible consensus,
establish an appropriate mechanism for consultation
with all segments of opinion as part of the ongoing
peace process.
And finally, the parties
agreed to accept the kind invitation of the Royal
Thai Government to host the two next sessions of talks
at the Rose Garden in Thailand in January and February
2003.
Thank You.
ERIK SOLHIEM
Thank you Vidar. I
now give the floor to Dr. Anton Balasingham chief
negotiator of the LTTE to make some initial remarks
on behalf of the LTTE and this important document.
ANTON BALASINGHAM
My dear friends, you
would have observed in the statement read by Mr. Helgesen
that both the parties have made an unprecedented historic
decision to work out a political formula for the solution
of the protracted ethnic conflict. The decision as
far as the LTTE is concerned is in line with the policy
that we have been advocating for the last two decades
or more. That is, a regional autonomous model based
on the right to internal self-determination of our
people in the historical areas where the Tamil and
the Muslim people live. So, with this autonomous model
or model of self-government that we were referring
to, has to be couched or properly conceptualised within
an appropriate concrete constitutional form. That
is what we decided, that we will opt for a federal
model. This federal model will be within united Sri
Lanka which will be appreciated by the Sinhalese people
I suppose.
And I wish to reiterate
that our struggle was based on the concept of self-determination
as articulated in the UN Charter and other resolutions
and instruments of the United Nations. I am surprised
because … what has happened is… I had
a meeting in London where I clearly exemplified the
concept of internal self-determination and also the
external self-determination and argued that our leadership
is prepared to workout a formula within the principle
– internal self-determination. This speech has
been totally distorted by the Sunday Island. I am
surprised that they claim that Balasingham has said
that the LTTE favours two independent states…
or something like that. I haven’t read the report
fully but I can assure you that it is a total distortion
of what I have announced at the London Martyrs’
Day Conference. I have to read out for your clarification
what Mr. Prabhakaran said in his Martyrs’ Day
message.
He has said, “We
are prepared to consider favourably a political framework
that offers substantial regional autonomy and self-government
in our homeland on the basis of our right to internal
self-determination”. It is on this basis…
it is on the basis of the proposals made by the LTTE
leadership both the parties have formulated a framework
that a federal structure would be the suitable model
to realise the principle of internal self-determination.
So I think this is, as Prof. Peiris always have said
(sic), a paradigm shift. Its not only a paradigm shift
on our part, it is also a paradigm shift on the part
of the Sri Lankan Government to accommodate the Tamil
and the Muslim people within a federal framework in
a united country.
So, I don’t
want to give you a lecture here but I wanted to make
these three comments before letting you raise questions.
I will now leave it
to Prof. Peiris to make his comments.
G L PEIRIS
Well, I think Dr.
Balasingham is exactly correct when he speaks of paradigm
shift because that is neither more nor less than has
occurred in Oslo during these last three days of intensive
discussions. It is necessary to understand the sequence,
how this has progressed and reached its present very
positive position. There was the explicit statement
by Mr. Velupillai Prabhakaran on the 27th of November
in his Heroes’ Day speech in which he said that
the LTTE is no longer insisting on a separate state
but the LTTE is looking at a different concept in
earnest and that is internal self-determination. And
he went on to explain what he meant. This was power
sharing, extensive power sharing within the framework
of one country. No question of cessation, no question
of separation but power sharing within the framework
of one country. It is fair to say that this statement
was foreshadowed in many respects by comments which
were made at the conclusion of the Sattahip session
in Thailand from the 16th to the 18th of September
and also in the second session in Nakhon Pathom Thailand
by Dr. Anton Balasingham. He foreshadowed much of
what was said in his speech and it received the final
authoritative articulation by the leader of the LTTE
on the 27th of November.
So that was the point
of departure. They are now talking about power sharing
within one country. Now immediately that provided
us with a coherent framework within which to evolve
a negotiated political solution because the position
of the Government of Sri Lanka is also that it stands
for substantial power sharing within one country.
Now the break through
yesterday the importance of which cannot be over-estimated,
Erik Solhiem’s so called “something unprecedented
and historic”, indeed it was. And the development
was this - the explicit identification of a federal
structure as the basis on which this political solution
is going to be evolved. So we now have a very clear
indication of the nature of the political solution
that the parties are working towards in order to bring
peace back to our troubled country, to put the war
behind us and to put Sri Lanka the on path to peace
and prosperity. So, we are talking of a federal solution.
It is not separatism, it is not confederation…
it is a federal model. Now, if we believe in a political
solution, if we are renouncing war… if we believe
in a political solution… there could not be
any other rural tribal except power sharing –
except the basis, the character of a federal solution.
Now this means that we will be able to make substantial
progress in the next two rounds of discussions in
Thailand. We have identified on this occasion some
of the specific matters which will need to be focused
upon such as the power sharing between the centre
and the region and also power sharing within the centre.
Matters relating to law and order, matters relating
to territory… we have enumerated the specific
matters which will receive attention I the next two
sessions all within the framework of the federal structure
that we have referred to. So that is one part of it.
Then very briefly
the other achievement was the solid consolidation
of the Ceasefire Agreement. Because that is the source
from which all these benefits flow. The parties discussed
the problems which have arisen with regard to the
Ceasefire Agreement. We identified the potential source
of these tensions and we figured out ways and means
of addressing these problems in order to prevent these
tensions from escalating.
Then, we also talked
about the money part of it – the need to engage
in development oriented and humanitarian activity
(that is going to be finalised in the next session).
Then a women’s committee that is to focus on
problems which are particularly acute in the case
of women and children in the war affected areas. And
also a decision on the part of the…. of both
parties to work towards the restoration of the religious
heritage of all religions in those parts of the country.
So all in all it was a very substantial achievement
which straddled all the different areas that we are
talking about. Three major areas – one is the
political matter, the second is the Ceasefire consolidation
and the third is the humanitarian and rehabilitation
matters. So it was indeed a very satisfying occasion.
Thank You.
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