Sinn Fein Chief Negotiator Martin McGuinness who met senior leaders of the Tamil Tigers last week criticised the European Union’s decision in May to proscribe the LTTE, press reports said.
“[It was a] huge mistake for the EU leaders to demonize the LTTE and the political leaders of the Tamil people,” Mr. McGuinness, a senior leader of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) who later become a top Sinn Fein official, told reporters.
“In a peace process all sides should be treated equally and with respect,” he said.
Tamileelam Police Chief B. Nadesan, LTTE’s Political Head, S. P. Tamilselvan and the Director of LTTE Peace Secretariat S. Puleedevan met with Mr. McGuinness who was accompanied by an aide, Mr. Aidan McAteer and Mr. Tyrol Ferdinands, Managing Trustee, Initiative for Political & Conflict Transformation (INPACT) in Colombo.
“I come from Ireland where we have a very successful peace process, one of the most successful peace processes of the world today, and I am very keen to share my experiences as one of the leaders of the Sinn Féin movement in Ireland, not just with the leaders of the LTTE, but also with Sri Lanka,” Mr. McGuinness said.
Mr. McGuinness joined the Provisional IRA around 1970 at the age of 20. At the age of 21, he became second-in-command of the Provisional IRA in Derry.
Since elected to the Executive board of Sinn Féin, he has played a major role in promoting and supporting the strategy of the current peace process in Northern Ireland.
In a statement at the end of his visit to Sri Lanka, Mr. McGuinness said:
“Today’s meeting was the primary purpose of my visit to Sri Lanka. In January, I visited the country and met the President and his senior Minister and officials. I also met Tamil representatives and Tamil members of Parliament. Unfortunately, I was not able to travel to the north to meet the LTTE directly at that time for logistical resons. I therefore welcome the opportunity to engage directly with the leadership of the Tamil Tigers.”
“During my meeting, I urged the LTTE leadership to re-engage in the stalled negotiations and pointed out the need to build a credible peace process as an alternative to the escalating conflict. I was able to share with the Tamil leadership the experiences of the Irish Peace Process and emphasised the need for courageous political leadership in the search for a honourable accommodation from which all sides will benefit.”
“I asked both the government and the Tamil Tigers to take decisive initiatives to build the peace process. I am convinced that there is the will on both sides to find a resolution but that increasing conflict is making the peace efforts more and more difficult. My core message was that both sides need to act decisively to prevent the downward spiral into all out conflict. The reality is that, just as in Ireland, there can be no military victory and that the only alternative to endless conflict is dialogue, negotiations and accommodation.”
“Sinn Fein will continue to play any role that we can to assist the peace process in Sri Lanka,” Mr. McGuinness concluded.
British press reports said in the wake of the end to the Northern Ireland conflict, McGuinness and Sinn Fein appear to be taking an interest in conflict resolution in other parts of the world.
Earlier last month, Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams and Mr. McGuinness paid separate visits to the Spain to encourage Basque separatists and socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to engage in talks.
In late June, Mr. Adams was one of 60 top officials who participated in a conference in Norway at which key peace mediators assembled to share ideas on ending world conflicts.
Speakers at this year’s retreat included Mr. Adams; European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Moreno Ocampo, Chief Prosecutor with the International Criminal Court.
The fourth annual ‘Mediators Retreat’ conference, which is closed to the public, is organized by the Norwegian Foreign Ministry and the Geneva-based Center for Humanitarian Dialogue.
Sinn Fein signed a peace agreement in 1998 and last year agreed to decommission its armed wing, the Irish Republican Army.
The move was part of a deal in British-controlled Northern Ireland brokered between Northern Ireland’s rival Protestant and Roman Catholic communities and the Irish and British governments.
“[It was a] huge mistake for the EU leaders to demonize the LTTE and the political leaders of the Tamil people,” Mr. McGuinness, a senior leader of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) who later become a top Sinn Fein official, told reporters.
“In a peace process all sides should be treated equally and with respect,” he said.
Tamileelam Police Chief B. Nadesan, LTTE’s Political Head, S. P. Tamilselvan and the Director of LTTE Peace Secretariat S. Puleedevan met with Mr. McGuinness who was accompanied by an aide, Mr. Aidan McAteer and Mr. Tyrol Ferdinands, Managing Trustee, Initiative for Political & Conflict Transformation (INPACT) in Colombo.
“I come from Ireland where we have a very successful peace process, one of the most successful peace processes of the world today, and I am very keen to share my experiences as one of the leaders of the Sinn Féin movement in Ireland, not just with the leaders of the LTTE, but also with Sri Lanka,” Mr. McGuinness said.
Mr. McGuinness joined the Provisional IRA around 1970 at the age of 20. At the age of 21, he became second-in-command of the Provisional IRA in Derry.
Since elected to the Executive board of Sinn Féin, he has played a major role in promoting and supporting the strategy of the current peace process in Northern Ireland.
In a statement at the end of his visit to Sri Lanka, Mr. McGuinness said:
“Today’s meeting was the primary purpose of my visit to Sri Lanka. In January, I visited the country and met the President and his senior Minister and officials. I also met Tamil representatives and Tamil members of Parliament. Unfortunately, I was not able to travel to the north to meet the LTTE directly at that time for logistical resons. I therefore welcome the opportunity to engage directly with the leadership of the Tamil Tigers.”
“During my meeting, I urged the LTTE leadership to re-engage in the stalled negotiations and pointed out the need to build a credible peace process as an alternative to the escalating conflict. I was able to share with the Tamil leadership the experiences of the Irish Peace Process and emphasised the need for courageous political leadership in the search for a honourable accommodation from which all sides will benefit.”
“I asked both the government and the Tamil Tigers to take decisive initiatives to build the peace process. I am convinced that there is the will on both sides to find a resolution but that increasing conflict is making the peace efforts more and more difficult. My core message was that both sides need to act decisively to prevent the downward spiral into all out conflict. The reality is that, just as in Ireland, there can be no military victory and that the only alternative to endless conflict is dialogue, negotiations and accommodation.”
“Sinn Fein will continue to play any role that we can to assist the peace process in Sri Lanka,” Mr. McGuinness concluded.
British press reports said in the wake of the end to the Northern Ireland conflict, McGuinness and Sinn Fein appear to be taking an interest in conflict resolution in other parts of the world.
Earlier last month, Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams and Mr. McGuinness paid separate visits to the Spain to encourage Basque separatists and socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to engage in talks.
In late June, Mr. Adams was one of 60 top officials who participated in a conference in Norway at which key peace mediators assembled to share ideas on ending world conflicts.
Speakers at this year’s retreat included Mr. Adams; European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Moreno Ocampo, Chief Prosecutor with the International Criminal Court.
The fourth annual ‘Mediators Retreat’ conference, which is closed to the public, is organized by the Norwegian Foreign Ministry and the Geneva-based Center for Humanitarian Dialogue.
Sinn Fein signed a peace agreement in 1998 and last year agreed to decommission its armed wing, the Irish Republican Army.
The move was part of a deal in British-controlled Northern Ireland brokered between Northern Ireland’s rival Protestant and Roman Catholic communities and the Irish and British governments.
