The delegates noted that there was a “disconnect” between policy and the experience of the people despite the Sri Lankan government’s assertion of commitment to improve judicial, legislative and administrative systems. The World Bank’s South Asia Vice President Meiko Nishimizu emphasized the need for efficient institutions and good governance. She made clear that economic growth without equity and social harmony among citizens could become a ‘destabiliser’ in the region.
Ms Nishimizu pointed out that war expenditure had risen to 6% of the GDP. Ahead of the Forum sessions, the International Working Group on Sri Lanka (IWG), a consortium of NGOs, had pointed out that while 25% of government expenditure is needed to fund the war effort, defence outlays rose by more than 50% in 2000 to around $1 billion. The IWG had urged governments to develop an explicit strategy for peace building within donor programmes and a coherence throughout all elements of foreign policy in relation to Sri Lanka.
The European Union, in a declaration at the Forum, confirmed its support for the Norwegian peace initiative and stressed the importance of the first meeting between Norway’s special negotiator Erik Solheim and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leader V Prabhakaran in November. In the same month, the Tiger leader had also called for unconditional peace talks, saying that the LTTE sought a negotiated settlement that would satisfy the political aspirations of the Tamil people. Mr Prabhakaran called for the removal of the north-east economic blockade and conditions of normalcy for peace negotiations.
In a statement on 12 December, Sri Lanka ruled out lifting of the economic blockade or the scaling down of the war before peace talks. The government, however, said that the time has come to move beyond rhetoric to the discussion of concrete political issues within a definite time frame with a clear political outcome in view. The government interpreted Mr Prabhakaran’s call for creating normalcy as a pre-condition and contended that the LTTE held the view that conditions of normalcy include ‘withdrawal of the Sri Lankan armed forces from the north before any talks can begin’. There will be no troop withdrawal, the government declared.
The government further stressed that the LTTE should agree to include the following core issues in the agenda for negotiations: 1) the stoppage of war; 2) the stoppage of terrorist killings; 3) the resolution of the Tamil people’s problems through negotiated political settlement; 4) speedy solution to the problems of the war displaced. The government denounced Mr Prabhakaran for issuing a challenge to the Sri Lankan state declaring that the LTTE will ‘regain Jaffna’, and reiterated that the issue of territorial integrity of the island cannot be questioned or negotiated.
The LTTE sprang a surprise on 21 December by announcing a unilateral ceasefire from midnight 24 December to midnight 24 January. The Tigers said that if the government responds positively to the ceasefire announcement, they would be prepared to ‘extend the period of peace to create cordial conditions and direct negotiations’. The government has rejected the ceasefire outright. The following day, the Sri Lankan Army launched Operation Kiniheera VII (Anvil) to capture LTTE-held areas east of Jaffna town. In late December, eight Tamil parties, including the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) called on the international community to exert pressure for a ceasefire declaration.
Hostility to external mediation continued, but the Norwegians saw some expression of support for their initiative. While the Sihala Urumaya (Sinhalese Heritage) and the National Movement Against Terrorism (NMAT) staged protests and burned the flags of Norway and Britain, over 2,000 people assembled outside the Norwegian embassy on 11 December to encourage the peace effort. A demonstration in Kandy on 30 December urged the Sri Lankan government to accept LTTE’s ceasefire offer and bring an end to the war.
But in a letter to the Norwegian ambassador in Colombo, the People’s Liberation Front (JVP) accused Norway of acting as an agent for the ‘imperialistic intentions of the US and Britain’ and demanded the Scandinavian nation not to interfere in the island’s internal affairs. The Norwegian Deputy Foreign minister Raymond Johansen says his country became involved on the request of both parties and is not seeking to impose any solution on Sri Lanka. Observers are worried over the stance of the JVP and say the party could become a formidable opponent of the current peace process.
There is real concern that the positions taken by the parties may push Sri Lanka into another period of uncertainty. In late December, the Bishops of Jaffna and Batticaloa drew attention to the enormous suffering of the people of the north-east and urged both parties to stop squabbling and take constructive measures for peace and harmony.