Norway’s confirmation this week that negotiations between the Liberation Tigers and the Sri Lanka government will indeed take place in Geneva on February 22-23 has ended concerns that the abduction last week of several aid workers of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) would derail the latest attempt to resume the peace process. Seven TRO workers are still missing after being abducted by Army-backed paramilitaries. The LTTE had, quite rightly, declared it would reconsider its participation in talks with President Mahinda Rajapakse’s government. But the government’s response to the kidnappings reveals the depth of acrimony between the two protagonists and, also, the chasm between the island’s communities. Colombo immediately and flatly denied its military was involved and then accused the LTTE of stage managing the incidents to legitimize an avoidance of talks (even though the accounts of the TRO workers who were left behind and the three who have been released provide incontrovertible evidence that Army-backed paramilitaries are responsible). Outlining their rational for going to Geneva anyway, LTTE officials this week pointed out that the bedrock of any peace process is a credible cessation of hostilities. Indeed, the issues being raised by the LTTE as its prime concern – the normalization aspects of the February 2002 ceasefire agreement (CFA), for example, – are the immediate concern of the Tamil community at large.

Hectic preparations are underway for the talks. The government’s delegation is this week in discussions with American negotiation experts to map put out its strategy for the forthcoming talks. Interestingly, political aspects – including federalism – are reportedly being explored. But both protagonists and the facilitators have publicly been asserting that the forthcoming talks would focus on implementation of the CFA. Perhaps, as during the previous round of talks, Sri Lanka hopes to depart from discussing the day-to-day difficulties of the Tamil people and to engage in a drawn out discussion on ‘core issues.’ No doubt some of Sri Lanka’s allies will prefer that too. But it should not be forgotten that the collapse of all previous peace processes are linked in one way or another to the unstable and difficult circumstances in which most Tamils find themselves and the peace process does not change. The LTTE has always argued that negotiations should proceed on a stage-by-stage basis, with the day-to-day difficulties of the Tamils – particularly the hundreds of thousands of internally displaced – being resolved first. Only then, the LTTE quite rightly argues, can a long term political solutions be arrived at - a point that escapes advocates of civil society participation in Sri Lanka’s peace process.

Contrary to some views, also, agreement on a long-term political solution is not the answer to the immediate difficulties bedeviling the Northeast. What is required first is the normalization of civilian life, not a hurried rush to core issues. The LTTE’s insistence that talks must focus on the implementation of the CFA is not, therefore, some dogmatic aversion to discussing core issues - as its opponents suggest it is - but an acknowledgement of today’s dangerous reality. Furthermore, the peace process has regressed significantly from the optimistic circumstances of 2002. The seeds for the decline were sowed even then, as the rush – without full implementation of the CFA as insisted on by the LTTE - to talks and then to talks on federalism resulted in an edifice built on loose sand – the distinct lack of normalcy and no drivers to produce it, save the distant target of a constitutional framework.

Meanwhile, the notion that the LTTE would inherently seek to avoid peace talks stems from the same prejudice that, irrespective of the major governmental transformations the LTTE has undergone in the past decade, continues to view the organization as an incorrigible and menacing threat to peace. This is the Sinhala nationalist position. It is also, to the detriment of the peace process, the view of sections of the international state and non-state community. By opting to frame the LTTE as a malevolent hegemon in Tamil politics instead of a vehicle for frustrated Tamil political aspirations, these observers have not only failed to contribute to a meaningful solution, but have, over the years, helped exacerbate the ethnic problem. Until this attitude changes there can be no peace as it will continue to assist and embolden the Sinhala-dominated state and undermine efforts at peacemaking. The Tamil community has for decades now been lobbying and pleading with international actors for support against Sri Lanka’s chauvinism. The question for the Tamils is whether they should continue to engage with actors whose prejudice against our liberation struggle is so deep seated as to be unassailable. They will not help, but only hinder. We may go further by concentrating our efforts elsewhere.

The United States has increased its military credits under its Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program: from $496,000 in 2005 to an estimated $1 million in 2006, IPS reported. The credits could be used by Sri Lanka to buy either US weapons or other military equipment.

The US has provided an average of about $500,000 to Sri Lanka every year as military grants under the International Military Education and Training Program (IMET), compared with about $1.4 million annually to neighboring India, IPS also reported.

“Increased FY 2006 FMF funding will be used to help Sri Lanka’s navy meet threats posed by national and regional terrorist groups, and will help to reform and upgrade its military,” US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South Asian Affairs, Donald Camp, said last year.

The FMF program provides grants and loans to help countries purchase U.S.-produced weapons, defense equipment, defense services and military training. FMF funding for Sri Lanka reached a high of $2.5 million in 2004, IPS said.

FMF funds are for purchases made through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, which manages government-to-government sales.

The US State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs sets policy for the FMF program, while the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), within the Defense Department, manages it on a day-to-day basis.

IMET pays for the training or education in the US of foreign military and a limited number of civilian personnel. IMET grants are given to foreign governments, which choose the courses their personnel will attend.

IMET is often considered to be the “traditional” U.S. military training program. Funded though the foreign aid appropriations process, IMET is overseen by the State Department and implemented by the Defense Department.

Splits are appearing in the ranks of the allied parties that only last November brought Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse to power, reports said this week. The Marxist-cum Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) are facing a crisis over the terms of an alliance to face the forthcoming local government elections.

The JVP has asked for the control of one third of local government bodies and fifty percent of seats for their members, the reports said. The powerful right wing party has also demanded that the list of the 17 local government bodies (or Pradeshiya Sabhas) to be contested under the ''bell'' symbol of the reds be announced before the polls.

General Secretary of the UPFA, Minister Susil Premjayanth, told The Island newspaper that the JVP had made the request last Friday. Mr Premjayanth had told the Marxists he had to consult the party’s district leadership and the General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the main member of the UPFA coalition, before a decision could be announced.

Although it campaigned in the Presidential election on his behalf, the JVP has stayed out of the UPFA government which is led by Rajapakse’s SLFP.

The JVP, a former militant movement which led two abortive and extremely bloody insurrections against the Sri Lankan state, has subsequent to its violent crushing, registered as a political party and inexorably grown to be the third largest political party. Some analysts feel it is now threatening to undermine and pass the SLFP – one of Sri Lanka’s traditional two main parties.

“The JVP is in a quandary over the upcoming Local Government elections as it is faced with a hard choice between entering the fray separately and making the UPFA grant its unwieldy demand,” The Island opinioned.

The paper quoted said the JVP was wary of “contesting the polls separately as it fears that a possible defeat will expose its real strength and negate the impressive victory it scored at the last general election where it secured 39 seats.”

At the last Local Government elections, the JVP won only a single Pradeshiya Sabha.

However, another report in The Island also quoted sources as saying the JVP membership and the grassroots party organization have been preparing to contest the local polls independently.

The JVP Central Committee has decided to field their candidates independently at the April Local Government polls and the party''s decision would be officially intimated to the SLFP in the next few days, The Island reported.

Other Sri Lankan papers also echo this view, suggesting that the call for an equal number of seats is part of the JVP plan to marginalise the SLFP, and that the objective can be achieved regardless of whether the parties compete together or not.

The Sunday Leader newspaper, which is sympathetic main parliamentary opposition United National Party (UNP), claimed that a three way contest between the SLFP, JVP and will only benefit the UNP, giving it either a majority, or at least the most seats. This would leave the JVP with a controlling stake, either as party of a coalition with the SLFP, or as the third force.

“But the end result as far as the JVP was concerned was the same - the marginalisation of the SLFP,” the Sunday Leader opinioned.

Meanwhile, the Sunday Leader reported that SLFP leader and former President, Mrs Chandrika Kumaratunga, recently attended a party meeting where she allegedly said she will “never allow the SLFP to be destroyed as long as she was Leader and that they should have confidence in the party without succumbing to those who are trying to win their demands through pressure tactics”.

"If they want to contest in alliance, let them come like the other parties and negotiate but not at the expense of destroying the SLFP," the paper quoted Mrs Kumaratunga as saying, though she did not identify the JVP by name.

Sri Lanka’s celebrated its 58th Independence Anniversary with a bristling display of its military hardware and a speech by newly elected President Mahinda Rajapakse that notably avoided mentioning either Norwegian peace efforts or the forthcoming talks in Geneva on strengthening implementation of Cease Fire Agreement.

Instead, President Rajapakse's speech focused on the role and participation of all communities in Sri Lanka in securing independence from the Colonial British rulers in 1948.

"To be a new Sri Lanka, talks should be new ... everything should be new," he said. "To stop the blood from a war, we should sweat a lot for peace. Our aim is to have a broader consensus... Solution through a broader consensus."

But President Rajapakse also praised former Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, a Sinhalese nationalist whom many blame for violence and discriminatory legislation against them, including the ‘Sinhala-Only’ Act which many analysts say led to the Tamil struggle for a homeland.

Compared to the abridged versions during the past, this year's full-scale ceremonials included a sail-past by the navy off Colombo's shore featuring its Fast Attack Craft among others and a fly-past by military helicopters and aircraft from the air force.

Avoiding war rhetoric despite the plethora of hardware on display, Mr Rajapakse said that the recent Presidential election was a "step forward taken with a view to extricate the country out of the present predicament and to safeguard and protect the national freedom."

He announced the launch of a "special programme of national integration this year to build greater amity and trust" among Sri Lankans.

Pointing out that "many efforts made in the past to achieve peace have failed," Mr. Rajapakse said there were lessons to be learnt.

"There is, therefore, the need to establish a structure of state to bring about the genuine participation of all sections of our people in development activities and the administration of Government."

He called for national unity during his televised address, but parades of multi-barrelled rocket launchers and tanks in the capital sent a strong visual message to the Tamil Tigers and the island’s Tamil community which marked the day with a strike and hartal protest across the Northeast.

Saturday''s solemn but grand celebration was held by the Sinhala-dominated state at the island''s most popular beachfront — the Galle Face Green — and described by President Rajapakse as a return of "grandeur and pride" to the venue after 28 years.

Regiments from the army, navy, air force and the police participated in the march-past, and so did school children representing various regions of the country.

The celebration featured a parade by 4,000 Army personnel, 1,300 Air Force and Navy personnel including 650 each and 600 Police personnel.

For the first time since 1957, students from one school per province, representing all 9 provinces, took part in a march at Galle Face.

Pupils from a Muslim school from Kinniya and a Sinhala school, Bandaranaike Vidyalayam, represented Northeast in the students’ march.

The entire Galle Face Green took a festive atmosphere with national flags and multi-coloured decorative flags fluttering majestically in the cool gentle breeze that came from the Indian Ocean.

Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, Minister for Public Administration Sarath Amunugama, political leaders and diplomats witnessed the celebration, which was also telecast nationally.

Security was tightened in and around Colombo for the celebrations, with main roads between Galle Face and Collpety, Duplication Road and York street closed between 8:30 a.m. and 12 noon.

Tamils observed a "silent shut down" throughout the Northeast, with shops closed in Jaffna and roads deserted. Tamil residents in the districts of Trincomalee and Mannar also observed a general shut down on Independence Day to protest against harassment by the Sri Lankan armed forces.

The Sinhala troops did not enforce hoisting national flags in public places across the Northeast, as in the past, but flags - comprising a Sinhala Lion brandishing a sword - were seen in some of their camps, reports said.

The World Bank funded North East Housing Reconstruction Programme (NEHRP) has commenced the second phase reconstruction of 13000 houses for the war victim families in the NorthEast.

NEHRP officials have started distributing forms to collect necessary data to select qualified beneficiaries affected by the decades-old war in the province to be included in the second phase, the NEHRP said.

During the first phase launched in 2005, 3079 were completed of the 4904 houses selected for reconstruction work. (309 in Amparai, 501 in Batticaloa, 666 in Trincomalee 295 in Vavuniya, 484 in Mannar, 501 in Killinochchi, 513 inMullaitivu and 1635 in Jaffna at district level).

The reconstruction of remaining 1195 houses would be completed during February this year, NEHRP added in the press release.

Before the launch of the housing reconstruction programme last year, the survey of the NEHRP revealed that about 326,000 houses in the NorthEast were destroyed in the war and about 172,000 people were living in welfare centers and refugee camps in the province. Of the ruined houses eighty five percent are located in the North East region, the survey revealed.

The World Bank has provided financial assistance to reconstruct a portion of the ruined houses in the North East after cease-fire agreement was signed by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on 22nd February 2002.

The World Bank then agreed to provide US Dollars 75 million to the NEHRP to reconstruct 31,270 houses, a portion of the war-destroyed houses in the eight administrative districts of Amparai, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Vavuniya, Mannar, Mullaitivu, Killinochchi and Jaffna in the North East.

A group of World Bank officials led by Mr.Naresh Duraiswamy recently visited the districts of Mannar, Vavuniya and Trincomalee and inspected the progress made in the first phase of housing reconstruction programme.

The Sri Lankan government’s dismissive response to complaints last week that several aid workers of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) have been kidnapped by Army-backed paramilitaries have sparked outraged amongst Tamils and have deepened acrimony ahead of negotiations with the Liberation Tigers.

Seven TRO staffers are still missing one week after they were intercepted and abducted whilst traveling in two separate groups in Sri Lanka’s volatile east. Three others who returned home after being released by the paramilitaries are being coerced by the police into denying reports of the abductions, reports said.

However the Sri Lankan government rejected involvement and suggested the incidents were being staged by the LTTE to avoid forthcoming talks in Geneva. The Tigers this week confirmed they would be attending the talks on February 22 and 23 on stabilizing the fraying ceasefire agreement.

And amid frantic appeals by the TRO and Tamil community groups to the international community to take up the matter with the Sri Lankan government, Colombo dismissed the TRO’s complaints as fabricated.

“It appears that a campaign of terror has been unleashed on TRO personnel in the NorthEast,” the charity said in a frantic statements issued Tuesday last week immediately after the abductions.

One group of five staffers - four personnel from the TRO’s Pre School Education Development Center (PSEDC) personnel and their driver – went missing last Tuesday.

Earlier, fifteen TRO staff members traveling from their Batticaloa office to Vavuniya for training were stopped by paramilitary personnel after the SLA checkpoint Welikanda, (Polunnaruwa District).

Five TRO members – all experienced aid workers - were dragged out and forced into the white van the others – recent recruits enroute for training - were assaulted and forced to turn back to Batticaloa.

The TRO says the staff disappeared in areas widely said to be strongholds of the Karuna group, a paramilitary group led by former Tiger commander Karuna Amman who defected to the Sri Lanka military in April 2004 following the collapse of his rebellion against the LTTE.

Since then several LTTE cadres and supporters, paramilitaries and security forces personnel have been killed in campaign by Karuna with the backing of the Army in what has come to be characterized as a ‘shadow war.’

In the past week there have been hartals (strike protests) and demonstrations in several parts of the Northeast and the Tamil media has bitterly criticized the government, warning that Colombo’s bona fides ahead of talks in Geneva this month are suspect.

The Uthayan, the mass circulation Jaffna based daily, in its editorial Monday warned of the potentially dangerous consequences of the attitude being displayed by the Sri Lankan Government insisting on its innocence and not taking urgent action to secure the release of the seven aid workers.

The UN agencies in Sri Lanka said they “deplore the reported abduction of 10 humanitarian aid workers.”

Pointing out the TRO was “an aid organization registered with the government,” the UN agencies noted: “These are humanitarian aid workers who devote their professional lives to serving those in need. Therefore, they have the right to respect and protection from harm.”

FORUT, a Norwegian non-Governmental Organizaton that works in Sri Lanka, this week joined the mainly Tamil clamour for action, saying it “condemns strongly the abduction of 10 aid workers from TRO.”

“Five of them were abducted on their way to a meeting organised by FORUT in Kilinochchi,” the NGO said. “They were on a mission to the Batticaloa District on behalf of the Norwegian Refugee Council and Save the Children Sri Lanka when they were abducted.”

Saying it condemns “any attack on aid workers, regardless of whether they are local or international,” FORUT demanded “all aid workers who are still not released should be released immediately, and that the Srilankan policy gives highest priority to the investigation of the abductions.”

However Sri Lanka’s government insists the military is without blame and questioned the veracity of the claims – even after three of the first group of abductees were released – first two and then another.

Criticising the TRO as an organisation “with links to the LTTE” Sri Lankan military spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe said last week reports of the abductions were false allegations meant to discredit the security forces.

When two women aid workers, against paramilitary warnings to be silent, went to file a police report at the insistence of government authorities, they were held at the Batticaloa Police station and forced to sign an unread statement, TRO officials said.

“They were not allowed to read the statement, but were asked to sign it and that their request for a copy of the statement was turned down,” TRO spokesman Arjunan Ethirweerasingam said.

“Colombo has placed the lives of the remaining 8 workers in danger by its failure to alert the state structures in a timely manner to secure the release of the workers,” he told reporters after the first two releases.

“Instead of co-operating with TRO officials and to work actively to resolve this urgent matter, Colombo is engaging in politically motivated disinformation campaign to discredit [us].”

The head of the TRO, Mr. K. P. Regi, told reporters that his staff are making arrangements to get the three released TRO workers to register complaint with the Human Rights Commission (HRC).

On Monday, the entire Batticaloa district observed a shut down protest against the abductions. The protest, called by the employees of local and foreign NGOs, who abstained from work, also drew support from private businesses and public services. Shops and banks remained closed. Public offices and schools were deserted.

Protestors burnt tires and blocked roads in several parts of Batticaloa District. Special Task Force (STF), Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troopers and Police intensified patrolling on the streets of Batticaloa town.

On Saturday Tamil residents in the districts of Trincomalee and Mannar observed a general shut down. The hartal on Sri Lanka’s Independence Day protested the wider harrasment of Tamils by the Sinhala-dominated security forces. On Thursday, there had been another demonstration by residents of Mannar and TRO workers in the western district.

Several civilians sustained minor injuries when STF troops opened fire at civilians observing hartal in Thirukovil area in Akkaraipattu last Friday against the abductions of the TRO staff.

Protesters burnt tyres and set up road blocks across the highway when STF opened fire for more than five minutes. Akkaraipattu, Thirukkovil, Tambiluvil and Pothuvil areas came to complete standstill.

Amid simmering anger, Tamil militia - which has claimed a string of lethal attacks against the Sri Lanka security forces in December and January - threatened to break off a self-imposed truce offered when Norway announced talks between Sri Lanka and the LTTE would take place this month.

Tamil media have warned that the threat by Tamil militia, which many say are linked to the LTTE, to attack the security forces should be taken seriously.

One group, ‘Upsurging People’s Force’, warned this weekend: ‘‘we cannot any more tolerate our people being killed and oppressed. It is no longer possible to be patient. Therefore we beg the international community and the Liberation Tigers to forgive us.”

“If the government maintains it has no connections to the suspects [in the abduction], the Tamils may be forced to handle the paramilitaries directly,” the Uthayan said. “In this context, we have to view the announcement made by the ‘Upsurging People’s Force’.”

This could kick start a spiral of violence that could undermine the talks in Geneva, the Uthayan said, expressing a concern shared by many.

Urging swift government action over the abductions, FORUT also cautioned this week “it is particularly important that this kind of criminal activity does not become a cause for revenge and escalation of violence in a situation where the ceasefire agreement is fragile.”

In a statement issued swiftly on reports of the abductions, the United States Embassy in Colombo said it was “concerned” and urged the government to “rapidly investigate these allegations.”

The US Embassy added “[we] again calls on all parties to exercise restraint and calm, especially in the run-up to the cease-fire talks in Geneva.”

Sri Lanka''s top international lenders bowed to pressure from Buddhist monks and Marxists supporting the government and cancelled a meeting with the Liberation Tigers last Friday.

The World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said the meeting with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was "rescheduled" but did not give a new date.

The last minute cancellation was announced following a discussion between representatives of the World Bank, IMF, UNDP and ADB held Thursday evening at the Ministry of Finance in Colombo.

The National Heritage Party of Buddhist monks and the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peruamana (JVP) had protested against the proposed meet between top officials of the financial institutions with the Tigers.

The donors visit was effectively postponed at the eleventh hour following severe opposition in Colombo including a threat issued by the JVP propaganda secretary Wimal Weerawanse who said the minority government would face serious consequences if the Kilinochchi meeting took place, the Daily Mirror reported Tuesday.

Addressing a joint news conference in Colombo Monday World Bank country head Peter Harold and ADB’s permanent representative Alassandro Pio said the donors collectively decided after talks with the government that it was in the best interest of the Geneva talks that the visit to Kilinochchi was postponed.

Asked if JVP pressure was the main reason for the postponement Mr. Harold said it was just one of many concerns raised.

The monks and the Marxists argued that the donor meeting would have legitimised the Tigers and claimed it also violated an unofficial ban on top diplomats visiting the Tigers after the assassination of the Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar in August last year.

The Sinhala nationalists protested the donors proposed meeting “has a hidden significance aiming at attributing a fake validity to the rebel outfit prior to the proposed talks in Geneva.”

Asserting that it was the responsibility of the President to prevent such meeting from taking place, these parties have reportedly said, the donor agencies should talk to the government on any post-tsunami development programmes and not with the LTTE.

''The Heads of the agencies, after consultation with the government and the LTTE, have postponed their visit to the Kilinochchi. The visit will be rescheduled after the Geneva meeting later this month,'' a statement from the External Affairs of the World Bank

"Much hope rests on a successful outcome at the Geneva talks and the agencies did not want to undertake anything that might have a negative impact on the buildup to this event."

"A technical team has proceeded to (the LTTE-held) Kilinochchi to review impediments to implementation of ongoing tsunami and post conflict recovery programmes," the agencies said.

Meanwhile the heads of the WB and ADB told reporters Monday that the present unstable security situation in the east was a handicap for the pace of development work funded by the two lending agencies and that the upcoming talks in Geneva were vital in creating a more conducive environment for development.

Despite acrimony over the abduction of several Tamil aid workers by Army-backed paramilitaries, the Liberation Tigers will meet with the Sri Lankan government in Geneva this month for high-level Norwegian facilitated negotiations.

The announcement came hours after Norway’s International Development Minister, Mr. Erik Solheim, met with the LTTE’s Chief Negotiator and Political Strategist, Mr. Anton Balasingham in London Monday.

Whilst both sides had two weeks ago ended a bitter standoff over the venue – Colombo insisting on an Asian location and the LTTE seeking talks in Oslo – by agreeing to Geneva, the abductions of several aid workers of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) by suspected Army-backed paramilitaries had cast doubts if the talks would proceed.

On Monday, formally announcing the protagonists’ decision to proceed, Norway’s Foreign Ministry said: “the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE have asked Norway to facilitate talks in Geneva from 22 to 23 February.”

This is the first time in three years that the parties meet face-to-face at such a high level.

But political issues are not on the agenda. Instead the talks will focus on four year ceasefire that has been strained almost to breaking point by a shadow war between Sri Lankan military intelligence and the LTTE.

A recent increase in violence has put the truce under particular strain. Since December at least 150 people have been killed, including 81 soldiers, sailors and police. Several civilians and some paramilitary and LTTE cadres have also died.

Aptly, the crucial talks this month come on the very anniversary of the signing of the truce agreement. “The parties will discuss how they can improve the implementation of the ceasefire agreement that was signed on 22 February 2002,” the Norwegian statement said.

Mr. Solheim, who is also Oslo’s Special Envoy to Sri Lanka, told reporters after the announcement the February talks are a significant step towards the restoration of the peace process.

"It is very positive that the parties have agreed to meet at a high level to discuss how to improve the serious security situation," Solheim said.

"The parties are taking a small but very significant step towards putting the peace process back on a positive track. And we expect the negotiations to be tough," underlined Mr. Solheim.

He said Norway would do its best to help the parties find a practical solution to relieve the pressure the cease-fire has come under.

Putting the dispute over the venue behind him, Mr. Solheim added: “The parties have chosen Geneva for their meeting because of the very supportive role Switzerland has always played in the peace process.”

Switzerland meanwhile said it “welcomes this decision and will do its utmost to ensure that the talks take place in an environment that is conducive to reaching a mutually acceptable solution.”

Referring obliquely to the tensions over the aid workers’ abductions, an official statement added: “In view of the events of the last few days, Switzerland calls on the parties to the conflict to do all within their powers to ensure that the talks can start in a constructive atmosphere.”

Mr. Solheim will lead the Norwegian delegation, which includes Norway’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mr. Hans Brattskar and Mr. Vidar Helgesen, formerly a senior member of the Norwegian Foreign Ministry. Mr. Helgesen oversaw six rounds of negotiations between the LTTE and the then Sri Lankan government from September 2002 to March 2003.

The head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), retired Norwegian General Harrup Haukland, will also be present at the talks. The Nordic staffed SLMM is tasked with overseeing the truce in the Northeast.

Sri Lanka’s newly elected President Mahinda Rajapakse had, during his election campaigns late last year, vowed to redraft the ceasefire. However the LTTE are resolutely opposed to changes in the agreement saying it is the implementation of the agreement, not its contents, that is problematic.

"The LTTE is not prepared to discuss modifications to the cease-fire or to push the cease-fire aside and waste time talking about a political solution," the Tigers reiterated in the latest editorial of their official organ ''Vuduthalaippulikal''.

Nonetheless, government officials are now taking a crash course in negotiating tactics and “the core issues of the island''s peace process” to prepare for talks, Reuters reported.

"We are going to have discussions with some experts about the issues to prepare for the talks," said government spokesman and Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, who will lead the government delegation at the talks said.

"The foundation for peace talks and the political solution has already been laid by the LTTE and the government of Sri Lanka. That foundation is the cease-fire agreement (CFA).

"The CFA was debated over a long period, modified by both parties, and eventually signed by both parties. It is only by implementing it properly the moves can be made towards the political solution," the ''Vuduthalaippulikal'' said.

The Tigers also repeated a warning that they would resume their struggle unless the government stopped backing paramilitary groups.

Sri Lanka’s North and East were calm on Tuesday despite tensions inflamed last week by the abductions of TRO aid workers, but many are uncertain.

"Today our lives are filled with lots of questions," 50-year-old teacher Francis Xavier, who works at a school in the northern Army-held enclave of Jaffna, told Reuters.

“If the first round ends well, then we have some hopes.”

Sri Lanka''s key financial backers said Monday that the agreement to revive talks will help reconstruction but there would be no significant foreign investment until lasting peace was achieved.

Security fears are slowing investment which in turn will mean the island economy will grow around 4-6 percent in 2006 rather than the 8 percent the government is targeting, the World Bank said.

"We haven''t got a security and a peace framework in which people have full confidence at this time," the World Bank''s country director for Sri Lanka, Peter Harrold, told reporters before the talk dates were announced.

He said Sri Lanka had maintained an average growth rate of five percent even during the height of fighting, but real peace was essential to attract serious investments: "Sri Lanka has demonstrated a capacity to grow at no less than 4 percent and not more than 6 percent when conditions with respect to the conflict are not deteriorating sharply."

"You can more or less count on something between 4-6 percent being something achievable," he added. "It will take a sustained rise in investment to see a sustained 8 percent growth. We haven''t got a security framework that people are going to have full confidence in."

The government and the Tamil Tigers have agreed to hold peace talks in Geneva in a bid to head off escalating violence that threatens to reignite the decades long civil war that killed over 64,000 people up until a 2002 truce, but the foes are still at odds over when to hold them.

Earlier, the major international donors pledged their commitment to upcoming peace talks but warned that recent violence could hamper development projects.

In a joint statement, the World Bank and Asian Development Bank said that a successful outcome to the talks - scheduled to take place later this month in Switzerland - will be essential for Sri Lanka''s growth and post-tsunami reconstruction.

"The two country directors wish to reiterate their commitment to playing their appropriate roles in supporting the peace process in Sri Lanka," Peter Harold and ADB chief Alessandro Pio said in the statement.

Pio told reporters that, despite recent unrest, the banks have kept up their projects to help rebuild Sri Lanka in the wake of the massive December 2004 tsunami that ravaged much of the coastline and killed some 35,000 people.

"But it is more difficult for larger scale projects, uncertainty makes it difficult," he said, adding that he hopes the talks in Geneva will resolve the lingering conflict, making it easier for the agencies to proceed with their projects.

No leeway for Tamil teachers

Sri Lanka''s Commissioner General of Examinations Monday rejected an appeal made by the Ceylon Tamil Teachers Union (CTTU) to postpone the Limited Competitive Examination of Sri Lanka Education Administrative Service Class III scheduled to be held only in Colombo on February 11 for a later date and also to take immediate steps to hold the examination in the northeast province to make it easy for the Tamil medium candidates to take the exams.

CTTU appealed for the postponement of the examination as Tamil medium teachers and principals in the northeast have not prepared for the examination due to tense situation that prevailed in the province since December.

CTTU also made a case for holding the examination for NE applicants in the province itself as the current security situation in Colombo is not conducive for the teachers and principals to travel and find lodging facilities in the capital.

But the Department of Examinations said it is not in a position to postpone the examination and also to hold it for Tamil medium candidates in the northeast as necessary arrangement has been finalized to hold the examination in Colombo only.

About thirty thousand candidates are expected to sit for this examination, which is to be held on February 11 in Colombo.(TamilNet)

Vavuniya traders under fire

Traders of Vavuniya have become the target of intimidation by unidentified armed groups withthe anonymous callers using mobile phones demanding cash over the telephone, Mr. Selvam Adaikalanathan, Vanni district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP said last week in an urgent letter to the Sri Lanka President Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse.

Traders who defy the extortionists, as well as their business establishments, have become targets for gunfire and grenade attacks the MP said. A few traders have already been killed recently, he added.

"Traders allege that the armed groups move about with the blessing of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers, and point out that in Vavuniya, where many security points line the streets, armed outsiders cannot move about without the knowledge of soldiers manning the checkpoints," said Mr.Adaikalanathan.

“Traders have complained that they have no other alterative but to shut down their shops indefinitely if this intimidation is allowed to continue,” he said.

“Hence I appeal to Your Excellency to take immediate action to bring an end to these atrocities so that these traders could continue their trade peacefully without any fear and hindrance," said Mr. Adaikalanathan in his letter.

USAID funds federalism seminar

The US Agency for International Development (USAID), in partnership with the Center for Policy Alternatives (CPA), held a symposium Monday titled "The future of Sri Lanka and the federal idea," engaging more than 500 participants in a discussion on the history of the country''s conflict, past attempts at negotiated settlements, and the basic facts about devolution of power and federalism.

The symposium at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Center was the culmination of a series of grass roots-level workshops facilitated by CPA that involved more than 25 community groups and was funded through a grant from the USAID Office of Transition Initiatives.

USAID said it hopes to establish a core group of trained and informed key community leaders who can transfer their knowledge to the public at large, on the basis that improving community awareness of federalism as a model of power sharing could help provide a solution to the Sri Lankan conflict.

"Federalism is one model for a non-violent solution,” U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka Jeffrey J. Lunstead said at the opening, adding, however, “the United States has no desire to tell Sri Lanka how to run its country or what kind of model to adopt.”

The symposium was organized in response to the widely held view that a dearth of information exists at all levels about the process of federalism and its implications for Sri Lankans, as well as some of the other core issues under discussion and debate.

"Educating and informing the public at large about this concept will allow them to participate more knowledgeably, and confidently, in this important conversation," USAID Mission Director Dr. Carol Becker said.

SLMC blames police partiality for violence

The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) has requested President Mahinda Rajapakse to appoint a Presidential Commission to inquire into the conduct of the Police in the violence that took place in Dharga Nagar in southern district of Aluthgama.

Mr. Rauff Hakim, SLMC leader, alleged that the partiality of the Police had contributed to the escalation of the violence against the Muslim people in the area, sources said.

Several shops of Muslims were burnt and properties damaged in the violence. Goons in the presence of the policemen set fire to Muslim business establishments while the curfew was in force. Police were also involved in looting those shops, residents allege.

A police officer in the traffic unit had spread a false rumour that a Sinhalese was killed by a Muslim person and Muslim people were preparing inside a mosque to attack Sinhalese. This contributed to the escalation of the violence between the two communities, according to locals.

Policemen had failed to discharge their duties impartially and the government should take the full responsibility for the violence, Mr. Hakeem said speaking in parliament on Wednesday in the debate on the Bill to amend the Criminal Procedure Code.(TamilNet)

Plastic containers and bags to be banned

The Health Ministry plans to obtain Cabinet approval to ban the manufacture and the use of polythene and plastic containers to arrest the growing number of dengue cases in the country.

Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva has directed Epidemiology Unit Director General Dr. Nihal Abeysinghe to draft the Cabinet Memorandum in this regard because the use of such disposable items including ice cream, yoghurt cups and containers had become ideal mosquito breeding grounds.

A Ministry official said that 15,463 dengue patients had been reported in 2004 of whom 88 died.

In 2005, this number had dropped to 5,211 cases with 26 deaths. However in January alone this year 698 dengue cases with one death were reported.
A ban on manufacturing and use of such disposable plastic items has also been recommended in the five- year programme to eradicate dengue fever from the country.

The Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry maintains that deficiencies in the disposal of garbage including used plastic containers and cans have contributed to the spread of dengue in the country.(Daily Mirror)

HIV/AIDS under control – minister

Sri Lanka has succeeded in controlling and preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country and the global programme by the UNAIDS has commended the measures taken in this regard, Minister of Healthcare and Nutrition Nimal Siripala de Silva said.

The current rate of prevalence of HIV/AIDS patients in Sri Lanka is 0.03 per cent, which is considered low compared to global trends, and the number of patients registered with HIV stands at 712 while the estimated number of virus carriers is around 3,500, he said.

With the detection of the first HIV/AIDS patient in Sri Lanka in early 1980’s, the World Health Organization initiated an awareness campaign and formulated a short term plan to screen blood donors with the introduction of test kits and training of laboratory technicians.

A national HIV/AIDS prevention project was launched with the aim to support the National STD/AIDS Control Programme of the Ministry of Healthcare and Nutrition to curb the spread of HIV infection which work towards achieving its goals.

The Minister pointed out that educating the youth and school children is vital in prevention the spread of the disease.

According to 2005 estimates, there are 5,100 people living with HIV/AIDS and over 100 are children under 15. The number of deaths during 2005 were 140.(The Island)

The agreement by the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), to discuss the implementation of the February 2002 Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) in Geneva this month, is a laudable step forward towards peace which has been widely welcomed by the international community. However, upon being congratulated on broking last week’s agreement deal, Erik Solheim, Norwegian International Development Minister, is said to have retorted that the real challenges are still to come. He is quite right.

Mr. Solheim’s extensive experience Special Envoy to Sri Lanka has equipped him well to recognize the obstacles that lie ahead. His successful facilitation to date has ensured the hard-line coalition government of President Mahinda Rajapakse has come to the negotiating table, despite its popular mandate from the South to adopt an uncompromising position on the ethnic issue and on dealing with the LTTE.

The coalition comprising President Rajapakse’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the Sinhala-nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the Buddhist hardline party, Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), had promised, amongst other hardline positions on the thnic question to renegotiate the ‘flawed’ CFA, to ensure that future peace talks took place in Sri Lanka and oust the Royal Norwegian Government from its role as facilitator to the peace process.

By agreeing to discuss the implementation of the CFA in Geneva under Norwegian facilitation, President Rajapakse now reneged on all three election pledges. But this substantial deviation away from the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government’s electoral mandate will in all likelihood add to the complications of delivering on any future agreements, notwithstanding that all concerned actors are presently focused upon more urgent necessity of de-escalating the spiralling violence in the Northeast.

The JHU, the smallest of the main Sinhala hard-line parties, has thus far been the only one to protest the Geneva talks. But despite the JHU’s vociferous protests, the UPFA government has inched ahead with engaging the LTTE.

Conversely, the JVP has observed a studied silence on the Geneva talks but since the formation of the new UPFA cabinet, the Marxist party has voiced its dissatisfaction with the government reneging on its election pledges. In its bid to maintain a distance from the government, the JVP has desisted from accepting ministerial portfolios. The JVP has always been careful to avoid being sullied by any compromises and surrenders that the government of the day makes. In June 2005, for example, the JVP withdrew from the government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga in protest over her signing the tsunami aid sharing deal (P-TOMS) with the LTTE. It is on the back of such principled positions that the JVP’s political standing has grown exponentially over the past decade.

Furthermore, whilst in power, it has– despite the best efforts of its detractors - ensured that it is not associated with the various corruption scandals that have riddled Sri Lankan politics. This and its track record of acting against moves by various administrations in Colombo that make any substantial concessions to the ‘terrorism’ (the most recent example being the agreement of the P-TOMS), have also reinforced its creditability within the Southern electorate as a party which is sincere in pursuing its stated objectives.

Unlike the JHU, the JVP has serious and real ambitions to form a functioning, one-party government in the coming years. Its grass roots campaigning have resulted in a rate of growth which suggests its objectives are realistic. The party’s silence over the Geneva peace talks are a sign of its grasp of the responsibilities of governance.

Upon forming the new UPFA government, the JVP egged President Rajapakse on to dump the Norwegian facilitators. With New Delhi rejecting the JVP’s plans to eject the Norwegians and provide the necessary military backing, the organisation toned down its right-wing rhetoric and reassessed its options. The government has undoubtedly been advised by the new military commanders it has appointed that the armed forces are not yet ready for a new war. Unlike, the JHU, the JVP had the clout to prevent the Geneva negotiations, but to do so may have prematurely invited a conflict upon an unprepared military. Such a blunder would have dented the party’s substantial credibility as potential governors, particularly if the war goes badly. Instead the JVP is keeping a clear distance from the proceedings, ensuring the President Rajapakse takes all the blame for the humiliating policy reversals the UPFA government is making.

The JVP’s short-term objectives are to ensure it is not tarred by any agreements Rajapakse makes with the Tigers. It has, ironically, also successfully regained some credibility amongst the international community, who were doubtless bracing themselves for its fiery protests.

But in the medium term the JVP and its ilk have a variety of options to prevent any deals which are contrary to its state principles. The most obvious is its ability to bring down the minority government should it give too much away to the Tigers and thereby ensure fresh elections where the JVP may, as unsullied champions of Sinhala interests, expand its position.

Another obvious avenue is to challenge the constitutional validity of any agreements entered by the government with the LTTE through the Supreme Court - as exemplified by the successful torpedoing of the P-TOMS last year.

The final layer of defence is the of course JVP’s ability to mobilise popular support for its hardline policies amongst southern voters into a rejection of any deal with the Tigers at a referendum – which no Sinhala government can survive without holding.

However, the most significant threat in the short term to the JVP’s strategy is the strengthening of the UPFA by the crossing over of rebels from the main opposition United National Party (UNP). With two MPs having defected and up to a dozen others in negotiations with President Rajapakse, his reliance on the JVP may diminish. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the JVP is opposing the crossing over of UNP MPs, citing concerns over the UPFA government mutating into a party reminiscent of the capitalist UNP.

The peace process has therefore come under another spoiling campaign: the UNP has threatened to withdraw its support (meaning it will agitate against) the peace process unless President Rajapakse stops encouraging defections. UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has irresponsibly cited Rajapakse’s poaching of UNP MPs as an acceptable reason for opposing the peace process, even as simmering violence threatens to escalate into a new war. The unashamed threat to future peace efforts from the UNP - a party which claims to be the architect of the present peace process – ought to give pause for thought to the International Community which has in recent years unquestioningly characterised the UNP as liberal and progressive on the national question.

In the Northeast the situation continues to deteriorate. The attacks on civilians and members of the LTTE are continuing although there has been some reduction in the rate of attacks since the agreement to recommence talks. President Rajapakse has promised to ‘look into’ claiming that elements of the military are out of his control.

Particularly disturbing is the strategy adopted by the armed forces to counter the rising attacks on them by Tamil militia. The military has began to deliberately target families and supporters of LTTE members. Scores of civilians have been killed or ‘disappeared’ by the security forces or paramilitary groups working with them. The killings are reminiscent of earlier ‘terror’ tactics used by the Sri Lankan military - and by other foreign armies in countering militias operating in urban areas amongst a sympathetic civilian population. The Sri Lankan crackdown on the JVP in the late eighties followed a similar strategy, albeit on a much larger scale.

President Rajapakse’s rotation into senior military posts of noted hard line commanders like General Sarath Fonseka has directly led to this strategy. The posting of hard line intelligence chief Brigadier Rizvy Zacky to Jaffna is another sign of the policies the army intends to pursue in the coming period. Several thousand families have already fled from the peninsula with others increasingly fearful. Attacks on respected and well known figures within the civil population, such as lecturers, doctors, journalists and aid workers magnify the effect of terror. Sexual attacks, torture and disappearances are amongst the tools that the Sri Lankan Army has already applied. The failure of the international community to unequivocally condemn these terror tactics against civilians is fuelling their effect.

President Rajapakse’s move to swiftly install hard line military commanders may prove to be the biggest hurdle to reaching a long term peace. The UNF government struggled to remove Fonseka as Jaffna commander, despite his defiant refusal to implement the CFA, which was causing serious – and ultimately debilitating - frictions between the two protagonists. His position as commander of the Jaffna forces was cited time and again by the then UNF government as a reason for not delivering on key aspects of the CFA.

The various Army-backed paramilitary organisations also have strong incentives to prevent the stabilisation and implementation CFA, a key part of which requires their disarming. Apart from the termination of their well paid jobs, the system of extortion and illegal trading which they have profited from would become unsustainable without weapons and the space to prey on the Northeastern populace. As the recent violence and abductions in the east attests, they are likely to resist the peace process too.

It is not clear whether Rajapakse’s decision to engage the LTTE in talks was the result of a genuine commitment to peace which he suspended for the sake of electoral success (as some of his horrified supporters claim), or merely a means to secure the armed forces more time to ready themselves for a new war against the Tigers.

But should the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE reach an agreement in Geneva, many of the obstacles that President Rajapakse will face in implementing it are entirely self inflicted. He chose his political bedfellows, despite the concerns of other members of the SLFP. He also chose military commanders who have a known history of antagonism to the CFA and the peace process, from the outset. Furthermore, the hawks in the southern political spectrum appear to have the most options - from legal challenges and electoral power to a sympathetic military leadership - to impose their agenda and resist progress in Geneva.

Despite its support for a peace process and a negotiated solution, the international community’s position has also bolstered the position of the right-wing lobby. Despite Colombo’s failure in the past four years to implement any agreements which will alleviate the living condition of the long-suffering residents of the Northeast, the international community has, by and large, not taken the governments to task or put any real pressure to deliver. The lesson that can justifiably be drawn from this is as long as Sri Lankan state is not directly responsible for the resumption of the conflict by offensive violence, it can continue with actions inimical to peace.

The LTTE’s perspective on the state of affairs was unequivocally set out during the annual Heroes’ Day speech by its leader, who issued a clear timeframe within which hr expects the problems facing the population to be resolved. Tamil parliamentarians have conveyed to the government and the world at large that the Tamil community’s confidence in future improvements – and hence, tolerance of the status quo - is fast ebbing away. The displaced’s ability to return to their homes and continue their lives has been hampered by the failure to implement the CFA and a number of subsequent other agreements.

But all this is coming to a head now. Whether President Rajapakse is genuine in his peace efforts or whether this is merely a cynical ploy to buy time to bolster the military is thus largely academic to the Tamils. The matter will be decided in the coming period: if there are no talks, then the violence will escalate and war is inevitable. If there are talks, but the agreements reached are not implemented, the same will happen.

The United States has increased its military credits under its Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program: from $496,000 in 2005 to an estimated $1 million in 2006, IPS reported. The credits could be used by Sri Lanka to buy either US weapons or other military equipment.

The US has provided an average of about $500,000 to Sri Lanka every year as military grants under the International Military Education and Training Program (IMET), compared with about $1.4 million annually to neighboring India, IPS also reported.

“Increased FY 2006 FMF funding will be used to help Sri Lanka’s navy meet threats posed by national and regional terrorist groups, and will help to reform and upgrade its military,” US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South Asian Affairs, Donald Camp, said last year.

The FMF program provides grants and loans to help countries purchase U.S.-produced weapons, defense equipment, defense services and military training. FMF funding for Sri Lanka reached a high of $2.5 million in 2004, IPS said.

FMF funds are for purchases made through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, which manages government-to-government sales.

The US State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs sets policy for the FMF program, while the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), within the Defense Department, manages it on a day-to-day basis.

IMET pays for the training or education in the US of foreign military and a limited number of civilian personnel. IMET grants are given to foreign governments, which choose the courses their personnel will attend.

IMET is often considered to be the “traditional” U.S. military training program. Funded though the foreign aid appropriations process, IMET is overseen by the State Department and implemented by the Defense Department.

An event to remember the tragic suffering caused by the December 2004 tsunami was organised by the White Pigeon UK on January 22 at Trafalgar Square, London.

Despite the very cold weather, several hundred people gathered for two hours to listen to speeches and pay their respects beneath the White Pigeon Banner displayed on the bottom of Nelson’s Column.

There was display of photographs of the tsunami-struck parts of Sri Lanka, whose northern, eastern and southern coastlines were badly hit, killing over thirty thousand people from all ethnicities.

In his welcome speech, Dr N S Moorty, Director of White Pigeon welcomed religious leaders of all faiths and other distinguished guests in attendance. He thanked the generosity of the British public, who helped to raise almost £1 million.

WP was able to send 25 doctors immediately and set up about 250 medical camps with medicine and medical equipments, preventing the spreading of epidemics and saving many lives.

He paid tribute to the efforts of the thousands of volunteers from the Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) and Tamil Tiger cadres who struggled without rest for days to help survivors of all communities. This type of disaster relief structure was not available even during the cyclone in America or the earthquake in Pakistan, Dr. Moorthy said.

WP was initially set up to help the landmine victims in Sri Lanka. More than 19,000 landmine victims were helped by the artificial limbs. But after the tsunami WP expanded its activities supplying survivors with immediate relief, such as prepared food, clothes, and medicine and hygiene facilities, intermediate relief, such as temporary shelter and food for cooking and water for drinking and washing and permanent settlement, such as brick-built houses and employment opportunities.

“In providing the relief, we did not discriminate against people on the basis of race or religion,” Dr. Moorthy said.

Multi-faith prayers were given by Imam Shahid Hussain (Regents Park Mosque), Rev Liz Russell (St Martin-in-the-Fields Church), Venerable Sangthong (The Buddhist Temple) and Kamalanatha Kurukkal (Edmonton Nagapoosani Temple).

After the prayers, Robert Evens and Jean Lambert, members of European Parliament addressed the crowd.

Mr Robert Evens said that at the time of the tsunami he was on holiday in America where there was not much coverage on the media about the tsunami, but only after retuning to the UK he was able to understand the situation and he was amazed by the response of the British public.

Jean Lambert in her speech emphasised the problems recovering from the tsunami, including allocation of land, bureaucracy, lack of compensation and the on going conflict.

Then children aged from 5-10 from Sivayogam Arts Society, dressed in white, sang songs about the tsunami in Tamil.

Bala Karunakaran, a medical student from Kings College, London described his experience with the tsunami victims - he was on medical assignment in Kilinochchi hospital when the waves hit the coastline. Designed to treat a maximum of 100 patients per day, the hospital handled more than 1000 patients on December 26, 2004.

He said the hardest part of his work was to take pictures of the dead bodies by the only one digital camera. There were bodies of children in their best clothes as it was Christmas day, and there were no counsellors to console the survivors. On the following day they created a website to identify the dead bodies, he said.

Carmel Budianrdjo, an Indonesian human rights campaigner, spoke about how tsunami brought peace to that hard-hit country, bring the Aceh rebels (GAM) and the Indonesian Government to a settlement.

Kavitha Sathyamoorthy recited a poem in English about the tsunami followed by a poetry reading by Parm Kaur, a poet, playwright and director.

Peter Quiny, a relief worker, described his experience in Batticaloa, which had a high toll of death due to the tsunami: he felt that welfare centres there were well below international standards, particularly denying occupants privacy.

The Remembrance event concluded by Vote of thanks by Evelyn Rodrigues, a WP volunteer.

Norway’s announcement last Wednesday that the Liberation Tigers and the Sri Lankan government have agreed that Switzerland would be a suitable venue for talks to stabilize the strained February 2002 ceasefire was understandably, though prematurely, greeted with international acclaim and relief by Sri Lankans of all communities. Indeed the events of the subsequent week, the most serious being the abduction of ten aid workers of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), have raised serious doubts about the prospects of the forthcoming talks and, in the longer term, a peaceful accommodation between the Tamils and the Sinhala-nationalist state.

To begin with, talks in themselves are not going to end the cycle of violence in Sri Lanka’s Northeast – which is why last week’s optimism was overstated. What is required is the willingness and ability of both sides to exert their authorities over their respective armed forces and end offensive actions. For its part, the LTTE has, whilst retaining its right to self-defense, given its undertaking to bring an end to attacks on the Sri Lankan military – a credible assurance, given its reputation for iron discipline and its influence over the Tamil community. The question is can, and if so, will, President Mahinda Rajapakse’s government be able to deliver the same? Within a day of Norwegian Special Envoy Erik Solheim’s announcement of talks last week, there was a deep penetration raid on the LTTE in Batticaloa. Notably, the ambush party which killed a senior LTTE cadre retreated under the cover of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) artillery to government controlled territory. This week, two groups of TRO workers were abducted in government-controlled Batticaloa by gunmen who demonstrably enjoyed the support of the Sri Lankan security forces. Moreover, the Sri Lankan military has not stopped its intimidation of the Tamil populace: cordon and search operations are ongoing with heavily armed troops marching through schools and hospital grounds, harassment of civilians at checkpoints continues, fishermen have gone missing and screams have been heard from army camps.

Amid shock and outrage amongst the Tamils in the wake of this week’s abductions, the LTTE has quite rightly declared it is reconsidering the Geneva talks and demanded the government ensure the safe return of the aid workers. The movement is unequivocal: it has not pulled out of the talks, but negotiations can only proceed once this matter is satisfactorily resolved and the wider de-escalation takes place. The LTTE’s position is justifiable on two grounds. Firstly, there has to be tangible de-escalation – including the abandoning of aggressive postures – before any talks can be meaningful. Without a will to peace, nothing can be achieved at the table. Secondly, and more importantly, there is no point in holding talks if agreements reached simply cannot be implemented. President Rajapakse - who is also Sri Lanka’s commander-in-chief - has been suggesting (according to reputable press reports) that sections of his military are operating on their own against the Tigers. This is an unacceptable excuse (the same logic was presented by Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe – though he blamed the hardline militarism of then President Chandrika Kumaratunga for Sri Lankan military attacks against the Tigers, including the sinking of LTTE ships). This is not to say it is a credible excuse either – many Tamils believe Rajapakse, like his predecessors, is duplicitous, determinedly waging a covert war against the Tigers whilst mouthing platitudes about peace.

In short, nothing will be served – and even worse, a false optimism will be unfairly raised amongst the long-suffering people of the Northeast – by talks between the LTTE and a Sri Lankan President who simply cannot back up his undertakings. The LTTE is therefore quite right to hold its position and await Colombo’s response. If President Rajapakse and the Sri Lankan government will exercise their authority and demonstrably rein in the Army’s paramilitary forces and their military intelligence commanders, then the Geneva talks can lead to meaningful steps towards de-escalation and stability. Unfortunately, President Rajapakse has only demonstrated leadership when rousing the Sinhala nationalist rabble. At this critical juncture, he is maintaining an irresponsible silence – and, even worse, his spokesmen are simply denying the aid workers’ abductions ever took place. This incident has thus demonstrated exactly what the future of negotiations with President Rajapakse and his government is likely to be. Last week’s optimism was premature and, as many Tamils now feel, sorely misplaced.