Govt. gears for next round of Geneva talks

The Government held its first preparatory meeting ahead of the next round of talks that is expected to address the contentious issue of high security zones, officials said.

The Steering Committee meeting on Wednesday, presided over by Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera ran for more than 2 ½ hours and was attended by almost all the peace negotiators, with the exception of those who were overseas.

The meeting began with a debrief from the Government negotiation team on the ups and downs of the two-day meeting at Chateau de Bossey, just outside Geneva.

JVP and JHU members were also present. They commended the delegates on their performance at the negotiating table and for securing a fresh date for more talks but had expressed their displeasure over the eight-paragraph joint statement the Government and the LTTE had agreed on. Both the JVP and the JHU signed separate pacts with then Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa ahead of the November Presidential election that amounted to overhauling the Norwegian-brokered peace process.

They pointed out that the joint statement was not in accordance to these agreements. But officials say neither the JVP or the JHU were expected to tip the scales or move to jeopardize next month’s talks and they were merely recording their stand.

The opening statement by chief negotiator Nimal Siripala de Silva received particular praise during the meeting, which pushed for a fresh truce agreement, calling the existing ceasefire pact ‘unconstitutional and illegal.’
In Geneva, the large Government team was commended by various quarters about its impressive preparation for the February 22-23, talks and officials said the team planned to keep up the work and discuss preparations for the April 19-21 meeting, set to also take place in Geneva.

The LTTE has already indicated it wanted high security zones to top the agenda but the Government is also likely to push for other issues to be taken up as a matter of priority.

Human rights is one such that the Government may want to discuss at the next round, senior officials involved in the process said. Since there was no prepared agenda for last month''s talks, the Government delegation had armed itself for various alternatives, including suggested amendments to the February 22, 2002 truce.

Some of this documentation may be taken back for the April talks, the officials said. But moves are also going ahead to try and agree with the LTTE on an agenda through the Norwegian facilitators ahead of the next round.
The just concluded round of talks dwelt with child recruitment by the LTTE and paramilitary or armed groups.

Officials involved in the process say these issues may be left out of the next round, but this will only depend if both sides feel satisfied that they both have upheld their pledge to end the violence.

Five DIGs in the north and east were summoned for a meeting in Colombo on Friday with Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and IGP Chandra Fernando.
During the two-hour meeting, the police chiefs discussed the dip in violence in the region and were told to take all necessary measures to keep the peace.
"The main issue of disarming paramilitary cadres in Sri Lanka Army controlled areas would be the key in demonstrating Colombo''s commitment," S.P. Thamilselvan, the Tiger''s political chief said after the talks.

The LTTE negotiation team is due to arrive in the island on Tuesday.
The Tigers were informed last week that their 12-member delegation must not arrive in a staggered fashion as it impedes the logistics to transport them back to the Wanni.

After previous rounds of talks, the LTTE has always stayed back to visit various other countries and hold talks with state officials and the Tamil diaspora.

Likewise, after the Swiss talks last month, the LTTE held meetings in Switzerland before leaving for the Norwegian capital Oslo the following week.
An earlier scheduled visit to Iceland after the Oslo visit was abruptly called off.