Government says CFA is prejudicial to the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka

The GOSL termed the Cease Fire agreement (CFA) signed with the Tamil Tigers in February 2002 was illegal and against the country’s constitution.

Making the opening statement of the talks in Geneva on the fourth anniversary of the CFA, head of the GOSL delegation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva however added that the truce has been beneficial to the people of Sri Lanka.

We are certain that the Sri Lankan military hierarchy, particularly the Sri Lanka military intelligence, is well aware of the existence and activities of the Tamil armed paramilitaries Anton Balasingham

“It (CFA) is prejudicial to the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of the Republic of Sri Lanka,” he said.

Highlighting the large number of CFA violations committed by the Tamil Tigers quoting figures from the truce monitors, the Leader of the House said new government led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa desires to look at the issues at a “fresh perspective”.

According to Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), the LTTE have committed 3519 CFA violations since 2002 while the security forces have violated it on 163 occasions.

But the Tamil Tigers insisted that the CFA that was “well crafted” to serve both parties’ interests, should be the foundation for long lasting peace.

Head of LTTE delegation, Anton Balasingham, refused to accept the number of CFA violations ruled by the SLMM.

Balasingham says non-implementation of the truce led to violence that brought the country towards war

“We cannot accept such exaggerated figures as authentic acts of ceasefire violations,” he said, adding that the recent escalation of war was due to the non-implementation of the CFA.

Minister de Silva accused the LTTE of gross violation of human rights such as recruiting of child soldiers, abductions, and killings of political opponents including former Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar.

Forcing the people in the North and the East to boycott the November 17 presidential elections was a gross violation of their democratic rights, the minister said.

Unfortunately, most of these internally displaced people still linger in refugee camps or have been resettled elsewhere GOSL on displaced Muslims

“It was a sad day for democracy in our country when the LTTE
forced the people in certain districts to observe a boycott of elections through coercion and general intimidation,” he added.

The LTTE, for their part, accused the GOSL of failing to disarm paramilitaries as agreed by the CFA.

"There are five major paramilitary groups operating in the northeast and in Colombo. They are known as Karuna group, EPDP group, PLOTE group, EPRLF (Varaithar) group and a Muslim Paramilitary group called Jihad group.

We are certain that the Sri Lankan military hierarchy, particularly the Sri Lanka military intelligence, is well aware of the existence and activities of the Tamil armed paramilitaries.” Balasigngham added.

Facilitators were less optimistic of a breakthrough in Geneva talks

Opening the talks Urs Ziswiler, Political Affairs Director, Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs , stressed the importance of safeguarding human rights in the island nation.

Upali Gajanayake reporting from Geneva told BBC Sandehsya that the Swiss government stressed that Sri Lanka should progress by following the example of Switzerland by becoming a multi-cultural and multi- ethnic society.

The GOSL and LTTE statements and the body languge indicated strong differences between the parties, he added.

Multi-cultural society

Although the Swiss official expressed optimism that the talks might be a new beginning for Sri Lanka, facilitators of the peace process were less optimistic.

Norwegian Minister for International Development Erik Solheim indicated that the parties have a long way to specially as the new government and the Tigers might need time to understand each other.

Stressing that consolidating the CFA is the “only practical way” for Sri Lanka’s conflict resolution, Balasingham accused the GOSL of not vacating the High Security Zones (HSZ) as agreed upon in the CFA.

“In Jaffna alone 35 prominent schools were forced to close down and 201 Hindu and Christian places of worship have been made inaccessible to our people,” he said.

Displaced Muslims

But the GOSL, for their part, accused the LTTE of undermining the rights of the Muslim minorities in the country.

“It was the hope of the Muslim people that the ceasefire would create the conditions that would enable them to feel secure to return to their homes
and re-establish their lives.

Unfortunately, most of these internally displaced people still linger in
refugee camps or have been resettled elsewhere," de Silva said.

The Tigers accepted that the CFA has been seriously violated in number of occasions. However, Balasingham said that both parties as well as the Tamil paramilitaries should take responsibility of such violations.

Recognising that the path ahead is to be a complex one, the GOSL called on the LTTE to develop a practical framework to find peace in the island through peaceful means.