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Mandela for Dublin meeting?

By D.B.S. Jeyaraj

The LTTE is trying hard to get former South African President Nelson Mandela to participate as a "distinguished observer" in the forthcoming meeting of its constitutional experts scheduled to be held in Dublin this week.

Since the LTTE is planning to discuss the South African model at its second round of constitutional discussions, the Tigers feel that Mandela's attendance would be appropriate and useful. Informed Tamil sources told The Sunday Leader, that despite intense lobbying by sections of pro-LTTE Tamils in South Africa for Mandela to attend the Ireland conclave, such efforts were not likely to succeed because the veteran freedom fighter was indisposed.

Tiger circles however are continuing with their efforts to get down Mandela to Dublin as his attendance would be a great public relations coup for the LTTE and also hope that it would help restore its tarnished reputation among human rights circles globally.

The Tigers are scheduled to hold discussions in South Africa, Northern Ireland, East Timor and Quebec in Canada. The Bougainvillea agreement for East Timor, the Good Friday Accord for Ireland , the ill-fated Meech Lake and Charlottetown Agreements of Canada, etc, are to be dissected in detail.

With the British government providing finances for the meeting, the LTTE has invited several non-Tamil academics to provide their expertise on relevant issues at the Dublin meeting. The LTTE has evinced great interest in the "distinct society" concept envisaged for Quebec some years ago and will have a former Canadian provincial government minister participating in the constitutional parleys at Dublin.

Prof. Gil Remillard who is on the governing board at the Forum of Federations in Canada will be attending. The forum chaired by former Ontario Premier Bob Rae has been playing a positive role in the search for federalism in Sri Lanka.

Remilliard was justice and inter-governmental affairs minister in the Quebec Province's Liberal government under Premier Robert Bourassa. He is currently counsel at Fraser Milner Casgraine and professor at Ecole Nationale D'administration Publique in Montreal.

LTTE Political Wing Chief, S.P. Tamilselvan is scheduled to lead the Tiger team from Sri Lanka to Ireland on September 27. He will return home on October 5. Most of those who attended the Paris meeting will be participating in the Dublin confabulations too it is learnt. New York based lawyer and LTTE International Legal Advisor, Visvanathan Ruthirakumaran is organising and co-ordinating the Dublin discussions.

The LTTE hopes to finalise its response to the government on the proposed interim administration after the Dublin discussions.

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