KUALA LUMPUR, 10 September 2003 — Visiting Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe voiced confidence yesterday that stalled peace talks with Tamil Tiger rebels could be revived but predicted tough and prolonged negotiations.
Wickremesinghe said he believed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) would agree to come to the negotiating table despite issuing various demands. “We have come a long way without fighting each other and we can agree to talk about it, identify our differences,” he told a news conference.
“I am confident that they will come to the negotiation table. At the same time, I won’t be surprised if there are one or two more breakdowns before we move on. It’s the nature of discussions.” Wickremesinghe, who is on a two-day visit here, said it had been agreed that once the LTTE presented its proposals on an interim administration for the northern and eastern regions, both parties would work on the modalities for resuming talks.
“Now we are dealing with issues which will define also the outcome of future political negotiations. This round of talks is going to be a tough one,” he said.
“Nevertheless once we have sorted out these issues, we will be on firmer ground. It’s going to take some time,” he said, adding that coming to an agreement would be a “slow process.” The LTTE and the Colombo government have been observing a ceasefire since February last year under a Norwegian-brokered truce.
But the Tigers withdrew from talks on April 21 after accusing the government of reneging on promises made at six rounds of talks since September last year. Norwegian and Japanese envoys are due in Colombo this month to help jumpstart the peace process, aimed at ending three decades of ethnic bloodshed that has claimed more than 60,000 lives.
Asked about possible talks with the elusive LTTE supremo V. Prabhakaran, Wickremesinghe said he did not believe that an eye-to-eye meeting would resolve anything.
“We are making progress, even though slowly, identifying issues. Let’s keeping moving down that road. I don’t believe longstanding issues in the politics of Sri Lanka can be solved in one single meeting,” he said. On his acrimonious relations with President Chandrika Kumaratunga, Wickremesinghe noted that Sri Lankan politics had always been “very confrontational.”
“From the time we were going to school, I have known her. It has its ups and downs but nevertheless, Sri Lanka is still functioning and we are talking to each other,” he said.
The Sri Lankan premier, who earlier held talks with his Malaysian counterpart Mahathir Mohamad, said his trip was timed ahead of Mahathir’s retirement in October after 22 years in power. He expressed admiration for the veteran Malaysian leader and sought Malaysian investment in infrastructure, tourism and selected industries. The two countries are expected to sign a pact today on Sri Lanka’s first privatized road project.
The $280 million Kandy-Colombo expressway project, to begin in six months, was awarded to a Malaysian consortium led by state-owned Construction Industry Development Board and three local firms, officials said.
