UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and British Foreign Office minister Mike O’Brian welcomed the breakthrough. Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwar Sibal expressed support but stressed that the principles of democracy, pluralism and human rights are respected on the ground. In the coming months, the Sub-Committee on Political Issues is expected to visit several countries to study different forms of devolution.
A federal solution was first proposed in the late 1940s by the Tamil Federal Party. But the idea has been denounced by large sections of the Sinhalese community as a stepping stone to separation. The rejection of the federal solution gave rise in later years to the Tamil demand for a separate state and culminated in the armed conflict.
The two parties agreed to initiate discussions on power-sharing between the centre and the region, as well as within the centre. Geographical regions for devolution, human rights protection, administrative mechanisms, public finance and law and order will be examined. A committee of women will explore inclusion of gender issues in the peace process. The LTTE will work with UNICEF to restore normalcy to the lives of war-affected children.
LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran’s annual Great Heroes Day speech on 27 November made the task of the negotiators easier. He declared that the Tigers were prepared to consider favourably a political framework that offers substantial autonomy and self-government in the Tamil homeland on the basis of the right to internal self-determination.
Mr Prabhakaran indicated, for the first time in 25 years, that the LTTE would seriously consider a solution within a united Sri Lanka. He assured that if a reasonable settlement could be realised by peaceful means, the LTTE would make every endeavour with honesty and sincerity to pursue that path. He warned that if self-determination is denied and the demand for self-rule is rejected, the Tamil people will have no alternative other than to secede and form an independent state.
Mr Prabhakaran also called on the Sinhalese people to identify and reject racist elements opposed to peace and predicted that the politics of the Sinhala nation will eventually determine whether the Sinhalese could peacefully co-exist with the Tamils or compel the Tamils to secede. In his speech, Mr Prabhakaran praised the international community for the encouragement given to both parties and the assistance promised for rehabilitation and reconstruction.
More than a hundred representatives from 37 countries and international institutions took part in an aid conference in Oslo on 25 November. Participants included British Secretary of State for International Development, Clare Short and US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage. Announcing a £10.6 million aid package for quick impact projects, Ms Short said that the dynamic peace process demanded rapid and flexible responses. She urged improved delivery and readiness for prompt action on practical initiatives.
The European Union agreed to strengthen its role in the peace process and in this context also engage the Tamil diaspora, expand dialogue with all parties and mobilize funds to support immediate activities, focusing on the priority areas of de-mining and rehabilitation of internally displaced people. It was also announced that a larger aid conference will be held in Tokyo in mid 2003.
A notable absentee at the aid conference was India. All attempts by the Sri Lankan government to ensure high-level Indian participation failed. Reports say that Indian Janata Party leader Subramaniam Swamy filed action in court to restrain Indian delegates attending the conference in which the Tigers are participating. The LTTE remains a banned organisation in India.
The acknowledgement of both parties - the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE - that the proposed federal solution has to be accepted by all communities in the island, indicates the difficulties lying ahead in achieving consensus. The main opposition People’s Alliance (PA) and the People’s Liberation Front (JVP) continued to voice their opposition to the peace process in and outside Parliament. President Chandrika Kumaratunge’s advisor Lakshman Kadirgamar accused Norway of favouring the LTTE.
The Sri Lankan government is also facing difficulty over the boycott of Parliament by Muslim MPs demanding assurances over a separate Muslim unit of devolution in the Eastern Province. In mid-November, Sri Lanka’s Central Bank warned that any setback in the peace process will adversely affect the economy and urged political parties to unite in achieving the twin purposes of peace and development.