Reports say that Mr Balasingham conveyed the Tiger position to Norwegian Foreign Minister Knut Vollebaek, who met him London after his discussions with Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunge and Opposition leader Ranil Wickremasinghe on 16 February.
Mr Balasingham also called for cessation of hostilities, withdrawal of government troops and removal of economic and other restrictions on the north-east regions held by the LTTE. He accused the government of amassing weapons promoting a military solution and stressed that there cannot be peace talks in such a background.
Mr Balasingham demands de-escalation, but there seems no let-up in the LTTE’s military programme. The Tigers have declared 2000 as the ‘year of war’ and have redoubled their worldwide fund-raising efforts. Press reports say that President Chandrika has assured the Sri Lankan armed force commanders that there will be no military concessions in the promotion of peace.
In her Independence Day message on 4 February, President Chandrika said that she firmly believed that the country was finally on track towards a durable solution to the ethnic problem. While underscoring the need for consensus politics and governance, the President declared that the LTTE has a vital role to play in ‘concluding the extended sadness for the Tamil people’. She urged the Tigers to recognise that assassinating leaders and innocent civilians can never resolve the problems of the minorities.
President Chandrika and Mr Wickremasinghe continued to engage in a war of words in February accusing each other of blocking the path to peace. The President held discussions with the Tamil political parties on 9 and 11 February on the amendments proposed by the ruling People’s Alliance (PA) to the draft constitution tabled in Parliament in October 1997. The Tamil parties reiterate their demand for the permanent merger of the Northern and Eastern provinces as one unit of devolution and oppose a referendum in the east. The two provinces were temporarily united under the Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement of 1987 which also provides for a referendum in the east for permanent merger.
The Tamil parties are concerned over several of PA’s new proposals, particularly the change of the draft provision "Sri Lanka shall be a union of regions" to "Sri Lanka is one, sovereign independent republic comprised of regions within a united state". The current constitutional provision "Sri Lanka is a unitary state" was changed in the 1997 draft constitution, with the aim of devolving power to the regions as a solution to the island’s conflict. The Tamil political parties are worried that the new proposal will curtail effective devolution.
Some observers have expressed dismay that the government is holding discussions on a peace package that the LTTE has already rejected. They also point out that the government has allocated Rs 41.4 billion ($575 million) for defence for the year 2000 and Public Administration deputy minister, Monty Gopallawa urged, at a meeting on 7 February, state officers such as Government Agents and Grama Sevakas (Village Headmen) to become involved in recruitment for the armed forces.
A group of intellectuals, including UN human rights prize winner Sunila Abeysekera and UN special representative on women Radika Kumarasamy, has expressed concern over serious deficiencies in the proposed constitution and disappointment over the removal of article 168 in the 1997 draft constitution which allowed limited judicial review of laws that transgress constitutional provisions on fundamental rights. The group has called for transparency and openness in the constitution making process.
Press reports say that the discussions between the Mr Vollebaek and the President Chandrika centred only around initiating peace talks avoiding controversial issues. The new Foreign Secretary, Lionel Fernando, who earlier served as GA in Jaffna is expected to visit Norway in late April for further talks.
Many organisations have welcomed the new peace initiative, but there is also strong opposition. Over 15 Sinhalese organisations led by the National Movement Against Terrorism (NMAT) and Sinhala Weeravidhana have demanded Norway not to interfere in Sri Lanka’s internal affairs.
The police denied these organisations permission to demonstrate in front of the Norwegian embassy in Colombo on 18 February. Norway, they say, is harbouring ‘LTTE terrorists’ and therefore has no moral right to intervene as a mediator. These organisations have repeatedly claimed that Sri Lanka faces only a terrorist problem and have opposed devolution of power to the regions.
The influential Mahanayake Theras or highpriests of the four main Buddhist sects, meeting on 4 March, decided to launch a campaign against Norwegian involvement and constitutional reforms. The British High Commissioner in Colombo, Linda Duffield, says devolution strengthens nationhood and enables governments to reflect the different traditions, cultures and aspirations of the people who make up the nation.