The joint statement issued in Geneva by the Liberation Tiger and the Sri Lankan government of Mahinda Rajapakse after their two days talks came under heavy fire from opposition parties, particularly the Sinhala far right, at the all party conference (APC) on Monday.
All parties were invited save one - the Tamil National Alliance, a coalition of Sri Lanka’s four largest Tamil parties which had swept the Tamil areas in the last Parliamentary elections.
The problem the opposition parties focussed on was that although Minister de Silva in his opening speech at Geneva had said certain clauses in the February 2002 Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) violated the Constitution of the country, at the end of the meeting the two delegations released a statement saying they would abide by it.
As the third round of the APC held at the Presidential Secretariat to brief the political parties on the Geneva talks, the Sinhala opposition parties complained that Chief Government Negotiator Nimal Siripala de Silva’s opening comments were not in accordance with what was stated in the joint statement, at the end of the Geneva meeting.
In return, President Mahinda Rajapaksa however pledged to adopt a broader approach at the next round of talks with the LTTE on April 19-21, though he did not elaborate.
Sinhala ultra-nationalist parties, Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) and Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), submitted separate memoranda rejecting the Geneva agreement.
Somawanse Amerasinghe, leader of JVP, told the conference: “The Geneva talks did not adhere to the Mahinda Chintanya but instead was conducted according to Norway’s wishes.” He was referring to President Rajapakse’s election manifesto, titled ‘Mahinda’s Thoughts’ which declared the CFA would be changed to ‘end terrorism.’
“Norway has succeeded in fulfilling the demands of the Liberation Tigers. If the Government disarms armed groups is agreed in Geneva, it should also disarm the LTTE,” he said.
“We firmly believe that it is better to walk away from the negotiation table without any progress being made, rather than agreeing to any conditions detrimental to the sovereignty of the country,” Amarasinghe told the conference.
He also urged the government team to actively work towards rectifying the ‘mistakes’ made at the Geneva talks.
The JVP leader said the government and the people were hopeful that the next round of peace talks would lead towards a lasting solution to the armed conflict.
The JVP, the third force in Sri Lanka’s politics, urged the government to strengthen the armed forces as a means of compelling the LTTE to continue negotiations.
The hardline monks party and government ally, the JHU, threatened to withdraw its parliamentary support and even vowed to take to streets if the government fails to rectify ‘mistakes’ it committed at the Geneva talks.
Blaming the government for taking over the responsibility to disarm the Karuna Group and other paramilitaries, the JHU called it a mistake on the part of the government to have done so.
The main Opposition United National Party (UNP) Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya said contradictory statements were made by Minister de Silva.
The UNP was careful not to criticise the CFA itself – the truce, after all, had been signed by the UNP when it was in power.
“Talks were started saying the CFA is against the Constitution. But the talks closed on a note accepting the CFA. The joint statement is contradicting the views of the Co-chairs to the peace process”, he said.
He said that UNP would prefer to hold direct talks with the President rather than saying a few words in front of the press at a meeting like the APC.
All parties were invited save one - the Tamil National Alliance, a coalition of Sri Lanka’s four largest Tamil parties which had swept the Tamil areas in the last Parliamentary elections.
The problem the opposition parties focussed on was that although Minister de Silva in his opening speech at Geneva had said certain clauses in the February 2002 Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) violated the Constitution of the country, at the end of the meeting the two delegations released a statement saying they would abide by it.
As the third round of the APC held at the Presidential Secretariat to brief the political parties on the Geneva talks, the Sinhala opposition parties complained that Chief Government Negotiator Nimal Siripala de Silva’s opening comments were not in accordance with what was stated in the joint statement, at the end of the Geneva meeting.
In return, President Mahinda Rajapaksa however pledged to adopt a broader approach at the next round of talks with the LTTE on April 19-21, though he did not elaborate.
Sinhala ultra-nationalist parties, Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) and Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), submitted separate memoranda rejecting the Geneva agreement.
Somawanse Amerasinghe, leader of JVP, told the conference: “The Geneva talks did not adhere to the Mahinda Chintanya but instead was conducted according to Norway’s wishes.” He was referring to President Rajapakse’s election manifesto, titled ‘Mahinda’s Thoughts’ which declared the CFA would be changed to ‘end terrorism.’
“Norway has succeeded in fulfilling the demands of the Liberation Tigers. If the Government disarms armed groups is agreed in Geneva, it should also disarm the LTTE,” he said.
“We firmly believe that it is better to walk away from the negotiation table without any progress being made, rather than agreeing to any conditions detrimental to the sovereignty of the country,” Amarasinghe told the conference.
He also urged the government team to actively work towards rectifying the ‘mistakes’ made at the Geneva talks.
The JVP leader said the government and the people were hopeful that the next round of peace talks would lead towards a lasting solution to the armed conflict.
The JVP, the third force in Sri Lanka’s politics, urged the government to strengthen the armed forces as a means of compelling the LTTE to continue negotiations.
The hardline monks party and government ally, the JHU, threatened to withdraw its parliamentary support and even vowed to take to streets if the government fails to rectify ‘mistakes’ it committed at the Geneva talks.
Blaming the government for taking over the responsibility to disarm the Karuna Group and other paramilitaries, the JHU called it a mistake on the part of the government to have done so.
The main Opposition United National Party (UNP) Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya said contradictory statements were made by Minister de Silva.
The UNP was careful not to criticise the CFA itself – the truce, after all, had been signed by the UNP when it was in power.
“Talks were started saying the CFA is against the Constitution. But the talks closed on a note accepting the CFA. The joint statement is contradicting the views of the Co-chairs to the peace process”, he said.
He said that UNP would prefer to hold direct talks with the President rather than saying a few words in front of the press at a meeting like the APC.
