By P.K. Balachandran, IANS
Colombo : Japan has given Sri Lanka a veiled warning that it may review relations if Colombo merely continues the war against the Tamil Tiger rebels without trying hard to find a political solution to the ethnic problem through negotiations with all stakeholders.
The warning was conveyed Monday by the Japanese special peace envoy, Yasushi Akashi, to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and other Sri Lankan ministers.
Akashi said he had come “urgently” because of Japan’s “serious concern” about the developing situation in Sri Lanka since the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was going to cease officially Wednesday.
The Sri Lankan government had unilaterally announced the abrogation of the agreement Jan 3, giving the mandatory 14 days notice.
“The termination of the ceasefire agreement may prompt the pursuit of a military solution to the conflict, with dire humanitarian consequences,” Akashi warned, reflecting the thinking of the Japanese government.
He told the media at the conclusion of his three-day visit that Japan or any other country could not “demand” that the Sri Lankan government do what it wanted, but added: “We have a right to express our concerns.”
“The government’s response to our expression of concern will determine Japan’s relationship with this country,” he warned.
The Sri Lankan government must draft a devolution package “as soon as possible” and that should be offered to the relevant parties, “including the LTTE”, Akashi said.
Asked point blank if Japan was contemplating a reduction or stoppage of aid as reported in a section of the Sri Lankan press, Akashi said the reports were based on “a misunderstanding and misapprehensions” about Japan’s intentions.
Clarifying the Japanese government’s position on aid, he said that Tokyo’s attitude to Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) was determined by a “complex set of factors” and these included political, military, humanitarian and economic considerations.
“Our aid programmes are not based on just one simple consideration,” he said, referring to Colombo’s unilateral abrogation of the CFA.
Japan is Sri Lanka’s single largest donor. It also has a strong and visible presence in the Sri Lankan market, especially in the automobile sector.
Akashi said that Japan understood that countries made decisions on war and peace based on a variety of considerations and that these fell within the realm of “sovereign” rights. Therefore, no outsider could impose or demand any decision in such matters.
“We will continue to observe, closely, the political, military and human rights situation in Sri Lanka,” he stressed.
But Akashi indicated that he had not lost hope entirely. He said he believed in President Rajapaksa’s assurance that the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) would submit “very soon” its recommendations on a devolution package to solve the ethnic question.
Asked if he regretted not being able to meet the LTTE at its headquarters in Kilinochchi (the Sri Lankan government has been discouraging him from doing the trip), Akashi said this time he had no plans to go there as the visit was only meant to convey Tokyo’s concerns stemming from the unilateral abrogation of the truce pact by the Sri Lankan government.
“But I did meet the TNA MPs,” he said. The Tamil National Alliance (TNA), which has 21 members in the Sri Lankan parliament, is believed to be the voice of the LTTE in parliament and outside.