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Colombo to send fresh proposals to LTTE

By V.S. Sambandan

COLOMBO JULY 10. The Sri Lankan government will send a set of ``concrete proposals'' for a ``provisional administrative structure'' to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) within the next few days, the Chief Government negotiator, G.L. Peiris, said here today.

Declining to give details of the proposals, Prof. Peiris, however, said they would be different from the earlier offers made by Colombo during the last two months to revive the stalled peace talks. The LTTE has ruled out resumption of talks unless it is offered an interim administrative structure outside Sri Lanka's unitary constitution. Proposals by Colombo since April included a development-oriented agency, which the Tigers rejected on the ground that it did not meet their demand for a ``politico-military administrative structure''.

Maintaining that the Government was not in a desperate hurry to put the peace process back on track, Prof. Peiris said that Colombo proposed to critically examine the format of the peace talks to ensure stability. The Government was open to suggestions relating to the structure of the peace process. ``What is important for the Government is not speed, but stability of the peace process'', Prof. Peiris, who is also Sri Lanka's Constitutional Affairs Minister, said.

Asked to elaborate, Prof. Peiris said a dialogue was necessary with the LTTE. ``Ours is not a self-righteous position... but an evolving position.'' The Government was willing to embark on ``self-criticism'' for the benefit of the peace process. A critical stock-taking was important, he said.

On southern political cooperation, Prof. Peiris said the Government was keeping the Opposition parties fully in the picture on the progress of the peace process. Asked about the advise sought by Colombo from the U.K., he said Britain's experience in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales would be useful in Sri Lanka's conflict resolution process, with a particular focus on devolution of powers.

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