The Hindu : Human rights to figure in next round of Sri Lanka talks

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 24, 2002

International

International

Human rights to figure in next round of Sri Lanka talks

By V.S. Sambandan

COLOMBO DEC. 23 . Sri Lankan peace negotiators will start the New Year by taking on contentious political and human issues such as power-sharing and the deployment of child soldiers in the next round of talks to be held in Thailand between January 6 and 9.

Terming the coming talks as a "process which is just beginning'' the head of Colombo's delegation, G.L. Peiris, said a ``framework for division of powers'' as well as "human rights'' issues, will be discussed during the four-day talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The fourth session is expected to take forward the broad framework reached earlier this month in Oslo when Colombo and the Tigers agreed to explore a federal model to find a solution within the framework of a united Sri Lanka.

Striking the normal tone of not raising hopes before each session of talks, Prof. Peiris said it will be ''unrealistic'' to expect conclusions to be reached during the next session.

Human rights, which is a matter of concern in Sri Lanka's political discourse, will figure for the first time in the talks. The two issues highlighted by Prof. Peiris - child soldiers and the cases of disappearances (missing in action) _ have international and domestic ramifications. The LTTE, which has come under condemnation by human rights organisations, has of late displayed its intention of returning child soldiers to their families.

The issue of missing soldiers has domestic implications. Several organisations representing soldiers who are missing in action (MIA) have made calls for greater clarity on this issue. The exact number of the MIAs is not known, but estimates place it in thousands. In addition, some organisations say that the Tigers have "hundreds'' of soldiers in captivity, a charge that the LTTE has not accepted as it has maintained that it has released all those under custody.

At the level of political discussions, the contentious issues of power-sharing such as the geographical region for which greater powers will be given, the political and administrative mechanism envisaged, matters relating to public finance and law and order, will have to be discussed.

Against the backdrop of a ground-level consolidation by the LTTE of its apparatuses of state - courts, police stations, banks etc., - the main challenge will be how this will be translated into a framework that will be accepted by all players. The LTTE has already indicated that it is seeking a predominant role in any future administration of the northeast.

Apart from these issues that will be addressed in next month's meeting, the sensitive one of Muslims in the east has not yet been addressed in full. The leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), Rauff Hakeem, who had to skip the third session of talks because of inner-party conflict, is expected to participate in the fourth session.

The impact that the Muslim issue has had on the negotiations is clear from the change in terminology. The SLMC leader was scheduled to represent Muslim interests in the talks in "subsequent rounds'' of talks.

However, after the "first round'' started in September, the monthly meetings have been termed as "sessions'', thereby deferring the issue of a direct Muslim representation in the talks.

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