By M.R. Narayan Swamy, IANS
New Delhi : Amid unending turmoil, there is a glimmer of hope in Sri Lanka. If all goes well, the government and the Tamil Tigers may be talking soon. But uncertainties remain, and all fingers remain tightly crossed.
Away from the limelight, Norway is busy trying to bridge the yawning gap between the Colombo authorities and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) that has again led to terrible misery in recent years.
This has involved months of intense diplomatic parleys among Norway, the peace facilitator, the US, the European Union and Japan – the four countries that make up the co-chairs to the peace process – as well as India.
Amid plenty of dark shadows, some silver linings have emerged.
The LTTE has lost some of its cockiness after the military reverses in the east but still packs plenty of lethal energy. And after the eastern triumph, the government is faced with the limitations of a purely military approach.
The LTTE has been told that it can expect no diplomatic support in its quest for a free homeland. At the same time, after acting against the Tigers, the West is exerting pressure on Sri Lanka, even at the cost of earning a bad name.
India, the one country seen by everyone as a key to a possible solution, is also nudging Colombo, but quietly, to take the peace path. India’s strong support to Norway has finally made Sri Lanka’s rulers mend fences with Oslo, after months of open hostility.
The negatives are aplenty too.
The LTTE and the Mahinda Rajapakse government do not trust each other. The Tigers feel the government cannot come up with a credible power sharing arrangement and that the international community will one day realise the folly of keeping the island united.
The government fears that the LTTE is not committed to peace. The military, eager to take on the Tigers in the north, feels that peace talks can be an impediment to an ultimate victory. Hardliners backing the government too think similarly.
Despite many imperfections, the attempts to evolve a national consensus on power sharing, driven by Sri Lankan cabinet minister Tissa Vitharana, are keeping alive the hopes of a negotiated end to the conflict. But the process has frustratingly got delayed.
After seeing the failure of their public statements to impact on the conduct of the two warring sides, the co-chairs now pursue India’s path of eschewing public denunciations as these only harden attitudes, and work quietly, avoiding needless publicity.
Thus, after analysing what went wrong following the 2002 ceasefire agreement, the Norwegians have been busy interacting with all parties involved in the fractured peace process, Colombo and the LTTE included.
Now, careful attention is paid to all players in Sri Lanka to avoid charges of bias.
Diplomats and officials of countries involved in the peace process are in constant touch with one another, both in Colombo and across continents, over the telephone. And though perceptions differ, there is a broad unanimity.
Everyone admits that the situation is Sri Lanka is dangerously fragile and that months of hard work will go down the drain if spoilers get into the act.
India remains deeply involved in the goings on while not engaging directly with the LTTE. The Indian view is that Colombo has to draw a clear line between an armed group and the larger Tamil issue — and see how the varying and at times contrasting interests of different parties can be merged.