INTERVIEWS

“We are committed to peace talks”

In an exclusive interview with The Sunday Leader, LTTE Political Wing Leader, S. P. Tamilchelvan explained the reasons why the Tigers have decided to suspend negotiations with the government. Tamilchelvan asserted that desperate poverty and a total lack of development aid to the Wanni has made it impossible for the LTTE to continue negotiations until these matters are addressed.

Excerpts from the interview:

By
Frederica Jansz In The Wanni

Q: What exactly does the LTTE want the government to do at this point in time that will ensure that the LTTE will return to the negotiating table?

A: The commitment and the mutual understanding between the parties when the ceasefire agreement was signed was euphoric. The civilians at large were pleased with the prospects that were spelt out in the ceasefire agreement, which amplifies the various aspects of bringing back normalcy and alleviating hardships. But unfortunately, a year and a few months have passed and much of these things have not been fulfilled and therefore there is discontentment, despair and frustration in the minds of civilians.

We and by extension our people, consider the ceasefire agreement as the first step towards bringing about normalcy.  The preface itself very clearly defines it to say; to alleviate the hardships caused by devastation of the war and so forth. So that being the core theme in the ceasefire agreement and since they have not been fulfilled, at least to a certain extent, are the premises on which we are now discussing matters.

Q: But what exactly will the Prime Minister have to do immediately that will once more ensure the participation of the LTTE at the negotiating table?

A: These are not new demands. The discrepancies have already been pointed out and the lapses are already shown very clearly to the Prime Minister in a very detailed report sent to him. The Prime Minister is fully aware of all that is mentioned in this report. So, the Prime Minister, if he is interested in the national welfare, has to take action according to what we have suggested in our letter and what we feel should be done immediately. We cannot divulge exactly what is in this report just yet as this is a matter between our leadership, the LTTE’s central committee and the Prime Minister.

Q: Over this last one year has there been absolutely no development aid coming into the Wanni for the civilian population?

A: We can immediately give a negative answer. Yes, nothing has happened... in the sense, when we say nothing, the A9 road was opened, yet, much of the repair work to this road is yet to be done. It is in progress at the moment, but we have to bear in mind the fact that this was a war continuing for 20 years. The entire infrastructure of the Wanni and the Jaffna peninsula in particular was destroyed. Tanks, schools, hospitals, paddy fields, etc. are full of mines and the de-mining is a big process. That is going on, but at a very slow pace and when it comes to the question of bringing back normalcy to civilian life, we have the presence of nearly 200,000 people in the Wanni itself who have been displaced.  In some families there are about eight or nine displacements. They have lost everything. Material possessions, their livelihood, at times their children and at times breadwinners as a result of aerial and carpet bombings. 

Now we have a population that is yearning to get back to their homes. This is the basic principle where the internally displaced people are concerned. So, internally displaced people who have lost their livelihood, who are away from their homes are actually trying to go and see at least the plot of land in which they lived.  It’s not government land. It is their title property. In most cases they are unable to even go near the plot of land. There are no traces of their houses. They have lost their cattle; they have lost their farming implements and everything is lost. And most of the schools that fall within the High Security Zones (HSZs) cannot be used by students. This after all, is the basis of normalcy.

So, the citizenry finds that all that is spelt out in the agreement after six rounds of peace negotiations and the establishment of a Sub-committee for Immediate Humanitarian and Rehabilitation Needs (SIHRN), despite having met several times — we haven’t been able to show to the people something of any substance.  Those who are displaced are in the very same position as they were on day one of the ceasefire agreement.

Q: In your view then, has the government been shilly-shallying during this last six rounds of talks and not addressing the core issues of this problem?

A: What has been going on is actually mutual understanding on paper and promises. Each round of talks, leaving aside the confrontational issues, when we take the immediate humanitarian needs it is a case of accepting that there exists a problem, but at the same time when it comes to the bottom line of implementation, nothing has taken place. The government is fully aware of this aspect because it has consistently been brought to its notice. The promises are there — yes. The name of the sub committee itself mutually agreed upon is ‘Sub-committee for IMMEDIATE Humanitarian and Rehabilitation Needs.’ So politics apart, this is an immediate need, which has not been addressed yet.  This is the problem we are faced with today because we are unable to face our people and tell them as to what we have achieved during this period.

Q: But isn’t the LTTE asking for too much with regard to the High Security Zones? It’s a catch 22 situation for the army and isn’t it unfair on the part of the LTTE to insist the military remove their camps from these areas so displaced persons can be resettled? Isn’t it too early in the peace process to make this demand?

A: The question of the HSZs is highly politicised. We would like to bring one simple example of HSZs that were existing in the Wanni prior to the fall of Elephant Pass. This Kilinochchi area itself was a full HSZ as far as the LTTE was concerned. Pallai is another HSZ where the concentration of the Tiger forces was there in Pallai and again in Kilinochchi to safeguard the entire Wanni. When Mullaitivu was captured and later Mankulam and the entire Wanni was released after the capture of Kilinochchi as well. The LTTE decided to let the people come in after clearing the mines locally with the expertise the LTTE had. All the military complexes belonging to the LTTE that existed in the Wanni were shifted to the interior jungles because the theme in the ceasefire agreement that was to come is that civilians must be free to move around in their natural habitat without any military presence, whether it is the government military or the LTTE military... we do have a military presence.

All these areas you can see for yourself whether there are in existence any military complexes here that give a sense of fear to the civilians. As against this, there still exists HSZs in the Jaffna peninsula.

Let us now take the HSZs in the various areas. Palaly and Vasavilan are areas where the airport was, earlier.  Only the airport and the premises immediately surrounding it were the military complexes those days.  Now, gradually after Riviresa and other various operations held before that, 47 grama sevaka divisions in the fertile lands of Valikamam around Palaly — these areas hold the richest red soil in the Jaffna peninsula. This is the cultivatable land in the Jaffna peninsula. There were farmer’s houses, big buildings, and industrial complexes that existed in those areas. Now after driving away the people, and forcing those people to seek refuge in the Wanni and places elsewhere, the military has arbitrarily and literally put a fence around 47 grama sevaka divisions and now call it a HSZ and talk about sovereignty, integrity, security... security of whom? Are they safeguarding the farms from the farmer? Are they safeguarding the sea from the fishermen? Are they safeguarding the schools from the children? These are the big questions now. It is not a question of the LTTE going and occupying the HSZs. It is the rightful owners that have to go and occupy.

The ceasefire agreement clearly says that so many LTTE political activists without arms can enter into the peninsula in instalments of 50 to 100 and do political work unarmed under the supervision of a monitoring mission which is empowered to see the terms of the ceasefire agreement are adhered to. The security forces are putting forward a security threat problem whereas the LTTE cadres that are moving around in the peninsula wherever in the peninsula are unarmed. So, it is the civilians that are asking they be re-settled and not the LTTE.  The Tigers do not hold real estate in these areas. It is the civilians. The question is to allow the rightful owners to go back.

Q: President Chandrika Kumaratunga has repeatedly stated the LTTE is not to be trusted. Do you think the President is justified in her observation given that the Tigers have now suspended peace talks?

A: Our people and we see Chandrika Kumaratunga as a dual personality. One, as the head of a political party which has vested interests in wresting power from the opposing group, which is just a regular phenomena in the politics of Sri Lanka.  On the other hand, we do have an Executive President with powers to control the armed forces. Now this personality for the last five or six years has been engaged in a game of duplicity.  She has been right throughout maintaining a dual position from the time she waged a war for peace, she was playing a double game. Our concern is not to fall prey to the tactics of Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga while at the same time we cannot also adjust ourselves to ensure that Chandrika’s game is not successful. We have to only ensure that we stand by our people. When it comes to the question of compromise in a negotiation for a lasting resolution of the conflict, we have to weigh between the interests of the people and the feasibility of a political settlement. So we cannot compromise on these immediate needs just because Chandrika Kumaratunga is coming out with a justification of, ‘I said so...’

Q: Having said that, the President is now saying the peace talks must continue. In the event parliament is dissolved, would the LTTE ever discuss peace with President Kumaratunga?

A: What we are concerned with is the welfare of the nation.  When we say nation, we focus attention on the Tamil nation which is devastated. Rebuilding the Tamil nation is in a way contributory to rebuilding the whole island, because it’s a part of it. The cancer in one part will definitely spread to the other parts. So, we are interested in engaging in clean politics. Not the kind of politics which Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga is trying to do.

So, our answer to this question would be if according to what political observers feel, in the event of parliament being dissolved and Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga taking the family dynasty or whatever... according to the circumstances prevailing at a time like that, we will also adjust and if it becomes necessary we may have to sit down and carry on with the negotiations because we consider it very essential that we find a resolution to this conflict. This is something we cannot predict and it is not appropriate for us to answer directly to that question.

Q: The President summoned her service commanders the moment Balasingham’s letter was received by the Premier and had a security briefing.  What is your response to this action and did the LTTE do the same?  Is there any possibility of a resumption of war once more?

A:  We consider the ceasefire agreement as the first step. We know the dividends, which the population of Sri Lanka have derived from the ceasefire agreement. Though not materially, guns are silent; we don’t have body bags, the peasantry in the south is very much relieved to find that they can move around freely and that their children don’t get killed in the war. The children in the north don’t get killed in the war either. Everybody is able to move about freely without the fear of a war.

In a country that had two decades of devastating war, this is a big dividend. Though yet there are so many things to be realised, it is still a big dividend. If in the event this personality, President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga decides to ignore these benefits and work towards something that will disrupt the ceasefire that will end up in the re-commencement of war, that person becomes answerable to the electorate of Sri Lanka.  Not just the Tamils, but to everybody in Sri Lanka. She will stand in the court of the public’s opinion. That is our opinion to what will happen if she takes such a step. We know of several regimes that acted in bad faith just to safeguard their own interests and ended up in a mess. So, therefore if this leader also decides to take that path, the electorate of Sri Lanka will make the right decision.

Q: Balasingham in his letter to the Premier, has also stated that the LTTE will not attend the donor conference in Japan this June. Don’t you think the LTTE stands to lose out significantly on an aid package by not attending this meeting?

A: Regaining Sri Lanka is the theme. We fully appreciate the concern of the Prime Minister in putting forward this programme since we realise the north and east form part of Sri Lanka. But one cannot shy away from the fact that it is the north and east that was battered by the war. It is the malnourished child that needs more nutrition, more attention than the average child. So, there is no politics involved, it’s a humanitarian problem. The war devastated sections of Sri Lanka, which is the north and east, and must be the focus in all the seminars and forums where aid is requested. It is common knowledge that this area needs a lot of money for rebuilding roads, hospitals, schools, etc.  Neglect has been there for nearly a quarter century. To rebuild it we need more money pumped in. That has to be told very clearly in a loud voice.

We do accept that there are problems everywhere in Sri Lanka, but then this is a war devastated area and that is the focus of attention. All these activities began from the ceasefire agreement.  When we say ceasefire agreement we have two parties to the agreement. The existence of two parties are fully recognised. The signature of the Prime Minister and the LTTE Leader are recognised. Therefore, it was agreed upon subsequently that all requests for foreign assistance, aid and grants, will be made jointly and the government and the LTTE would have equal partnership in putting forward the claims or their problems to the international community. By marginalising the LTTE in the Washington conference the message was that the government of Sri Lanka is more concerned about getting aid by marginalising the Tamil leadership.

The ground situation is that there exists a de facto regime and an administration which runs the affairs of the Tamil people which has been recognised as the legitimate body to sign this agreement from which emanated all these activities. So at one stage to marginalise the LTTE is actually denying the voice of the Tamil people. Therefore, in Dr. Balasingham’s letter to the Prime Minister it has been clearly said what has to be attended to immediately. We have maintained our position that we continue our commitment for peaceful negotiations.

Q: That is exactly my question. By the LTTE not going to Japan, aren’t you shutting out the opportunity of presenting your case and securing financial assistance for your people?

A:  In our experience, during the last one year after participating in the Oslo aid conference, these pledges all remain as mere promises. Nothing is coming to fruition. So, marginalisation has already started in the Washington aid conference. Even prior to that, the mechanisms that were arranged to ensure the speedy inflow of funds and implementation of programmes are not taking place. By just participating we are not sure how sincere the implementation will be. Upto now. nearly one year and three months after the ceasefire agreement we haven’t seen anything happening. So, our attendance, at the moment, at these donor conferences seem to be just meaningless.

Q: Did Milinda Moragoda at Hakone, Japan promise that he would not attend the Washington aid conference without Anton Balasingham?

A: Not in so many words as you suggest.  He however said he would make all endeavours to ensure Dr. Balasingham’s participation on behalf of the LTTE in the Washington conference. That was a promise given by Milinda Moragoda. In other words, to say that he will try to ensure this in a way was an assurance.

Q: Given that the LTTE remains a proscribed organisation in the United States, what could have been the alternative for both America and the Sri Lankan government in this instance?

A: The US representative, Richard Armitage participated in the Oslo donor conference along with the Tigers. What we would have considered as ideal would have been to change the location to a place acceptable by both parties. We have had prior experience of such an instance, therefore, the location could have been either somewhere away from the United States or even within the United States on neutral grounds. A compound like the United Nations would have been ideal within the country of the United States, but on neutral grounds. This was not something that wasn’t possible. Had everybody believed that the partnership in this peace process is very essential in fulfilling this mutual project this could have been arranged.