Modalities for Lankan peace talks finalised

COLOMBO, FEBRUARY 17: Sri Lankan Government on Thursday said it has worked out the modalities for direct negotiations with the LTTE to end the over a decade-old ethnic strife in the country.

The modalities were finalised on Thursday night during the talks President Chandrika Kumaratunga held with Norwegian Foreign Minister Knut Volleback, who is here to quot;facilitatequot; peace between the warring sides. quot;The conflict could be resolved only through political means,quot; Volleback, who arrived here on Wednesday said, adding that it placed a quot;heavy responsibility upon the parties themselvesquot;. quot;I am encouraged by the expressed willingness to seek a political solution. However, this will take time. It will be difficult. It will require courage, sacrifice and political willquot;, he said but declined to divulge when or where negotiations would be held. The Government maintained that Norway was to play the role of a quot;facilitatorquot; as opposed to that of quot;mediationquot; in initiating peace negotiations.

Volleback held extensive discussions with his Sri Lankan counterpart Lakshman Kadirgamar, opposition United National Party leader Ranil Wickramasinghe and also LTTE spokesman in London, Anton Balasingham, the release said. Among the officials present in the talks between Kumaratunga and Volleback were Sri Lanka8217;s High Commissioner to India Mangala Moonasinghe. India has so far remained non-committal about the role being played by Norway.

The LTTE had consistently demanded that negotiations be held under third party mediation, arguing that it would secure international guarantees for implementing any solution arrived at by both the parties. The Government, however, has maintained that it sought the assistance of a quot;facilitatorquot; who confined to arranging talks between the two sides as mediation infringed on the sovereignty of the country. The previous talks between the Government and the LTTE were held in Colombo and in northern Jaffna in 1994, which was then under the control of the rebels.