COLOMBO, Jan 29: The death sentence to 26 LTTE members and the conviction of Velupillai Prabhakaran by an Indian court is being viewed in Sri Lanka as yet another obstacle to possible peace negotiations with the Tamil Tigers.Talking to the group is the only way out of the country's 15-year-old ethnic conflict, but Wednesday's tough verdict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case - two days after Sri Lanka banned the separatist group and a court here issued arrest warrants for Prabhakaran and his intelligence chief Pottu Amman - could further narrow the possibility of this happening, said major political parties and political analysts. ``There may come a stage when the government and opposition may want to talk to the LTTE as the only way for any settlement. At that stage, this verdict will hang over Sri Lanka, whether or not to talk to a convict?'' said Victor Ivan of the Sinhala daily Ravaya.While Sri Lanka's ban on the LTTE virtually rules out talks, at least for the moment, it is not irrevocable andcan be lifted if the government decides to initiate talks with the group. However, it is believed that negotiations with the LTTE, after the verdict against the group in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, may be frowned upon by India. ``There is now a possibility that India will say don't talk to the Tigers,'' said Dharamlingam Sidharthan, leader of the Tamil political party PLOTE. Moreover, a request from India for the extradition of Prabhakaran is still pending. The judgement is also being viewed as an instrument that will strengthen the hands of the small but forceful minority that has maintained that there must be no talks with the separatist group. ``In this sense, it is a further setback to those who are advocating talks with the LTTE,'' said Rohan Edirisinghe of the Centre for Policy Research and Analysis.Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party, which has consistently demanded negotiations with LTTE on a peaceful settlement to the ethnic conflict, said the judgement must not stand inthe way of such talks.Diplomatic sources said Sri Lanka may have to contend with Indian ``outrage'' in the yet remote eventuality of talks with the LTTE. However, according to UNP stalwart Ronnie de Mel, ground realities in Sri Lanka left no other choice.``I don't know how else we can stop the fighting except by talking to those who are fighting. Good relations between India and Sri Lanka have always been important to us, but at the same time, I am not oblivious to the fact that there were death sentences on Fidel Castro and Nelson Mandela too,'' said UNP member of Parliament Ronnie de Mel.On another count, Sri Lanka is relieved that following the verdict, the LTTE's chances of finding supporters in India are minimal. ``This verdict has finished any hope that the Tigers may have had of finding friends in India in the post election scenario,'' said Loganathan Ketheeswaran, consultant editor of the Weekend Express and former EPRLF ideologue. However, like the arrest warrant by a Sri Lankan court,Wednesday's order convicting the LTTE chief too alters little on the ground and is academic, mainly because in his jungle hide-out in northern Sri Lanka, he is inaccessible to the law.
