Conflict in Sri Lanka: Ground Realities - Tamil Nation & Beyond

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In summary, President Rajapakse seems to be prepared to sacrificeeven the little consensus reached during the peace talks so far,for the sake of appeasing the Singhalese nationalist constituencywhich elected him.The last round of peace negotiations came to a standstill whenthe LTTE proposed an Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA)to be established for the North-East of Sri Lanka to carry outrehabilitation and reconstruction work. The LTTE arguedthat rehabilitation and reconstruction cannot wait until a finalpolitical solution is found for the conflict, which will take at leastfew years for both sides to agree on. Without rehabilitation andreconstruction of the war-affected areas, Tamil people will notreap the benefit of the CFA and the peace process, the LTTEargued. The LTTE also insisted that the Tamil people will haveto play the major role in this interim administration. But, atthis stage, the then President CBK sacked the Wickramasinghegovernment, held a general election and installed an SLFP/JVP coalition government. This government, headed by PrimeMinister Rajapakse, did not take any interest in renewing thepeace negotiations due to the JVP’s opposition to the governmentnegotiating with the LTTE.Any long term conflicts like the one in Sri Lanka have to gothrough an interim administration to reach a final settlement.The best case in point is the solution reached for the conflict inSudan. The conflict in Sudan started almost at the same timeas the Sri Lankan conflict. The armed conflict between the Arabdominated Khartoum government forces of the north of Sudanand the African dominated Sudanese People Liberation Army(SPLA) of the south has caused death and destruction in thesouth of the country for the last 21 years.The government of Sudan in the North and the Sudanese People’sLiberation Movement (SPLM) headed by its military leader GeneralJohn Garang in the South signed a permanent peace accordon 9 January 2005, ending Sudan’s 21-year civil war. It is theculmination of a more than two years of intensive negotiations.40
The peace talks were mediated by the regional IntergovernmentalAuthority on Development (IGAD), led by retired Kenyan GeneralLazaro Sumbeiywo. A united diplomatic front to achieve peace wasalso led by the United Kingdom, Norway, Kenya, and the UnitedStates, with significant involvement from U.S. Special EnvoyAmbassador John Danforth, during the past two years. The peaceaccord was signed in Nairobi by General John Garang on behalfof the SPLM and Sudanese First Vice President Ali Osman Tahaon behalf of the government of Sudan. Importantly, it providesfor a federal system, with a two chamber central governmentand a regional government for Southern Sudan which will havesubstantial powers. This structure will stay in effect for six years,after which South Sudan may choose to become independentthrough a referendum. During this interim period, a governmentof national unity will administer the country on a national basis.The agreement provides for an internationally monitored ceasefirewith U.N. peace monitors. Two separate armed forces with a jointcoordinating mechanism will be maintained in the North andSouth during the six-year transitional period. The agreementaddresses many contentious issues, such as power-sharing inthe transitional government, and how to administer contestedareas such as the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile, where resourceand land-based conflicts have flared for years.Another thorny issue addressed in the accord is wealth-sharing,including oil revenues. Sudan has some of the largest proven oilreserves in the world. The agreements provide wealth sharingformulas between the North and South and oil producingstates.The agreement also provides that Sharia law, which is appliedin the predominantly Muslim North, will not apply in thepredominantly Christian South or in the capital, Khartoum. Thishad been a major sticking point during the conflict.An interim constitution was signed by both the leaders on 9 th ofJuly 2005 and General John Garang became the vice president ofthis interim government. Although General John Garang died ina helicopter crash a few days later, his former deputy in the SPLAhas replaced him as Vice President and the interim governmentcontinues.41
Page 7 and 8: ContentsIntroduction ..............
Page 9 and 10: IntroductionThe prospects for peace
Page 17 and 18: that I haven’t voted in the elect
Page 19 and 20: Is Peace Feasible?- Wakeley Paul[Wa
Page 21 and 22: In short, Rajapakse’s conception
Page 23 and 24: their leader should be? Obviously n
Page 25 and 26: The Vaddukodai resolutionIf there i
Page 27 and 28: due to the depopulation of vast are
Page 29 and 30: east because the Muslims reacted to
Page 31 and 32: usually tends to be obfuscated in d
Page 33 and 34: consider federal structures based o
Page 35 and 36: The official languageThe question o
Page 37 and 38: the LTTE-led Tamil National Movemen
Page 39 and 40: the LTTE to deliver humanitarian ai
Page 41 and 42: to power sharing. This behaviour, t
Page 43 and 44: political stand of the overwhelming
Page 45 and 46: Sudan’s Interim Power-sharing and
Page 47 and 48: of Norway and with the support of t
Page 49 and 50: inception of the CFA, they laid out
Page 51: determination, many analysts and co
Page 55 and 56: Sri Lanka and Tamil Eelam: The Part
Page 57 and 58: e trusted on a permanent basis. The
Page 59 and 60: their times and climes but their vo
Page 61 and 62: 4. Consequently the feeling of a mi
Page 63 and 64: The Armed StruggleIn the arena of c
Page 65 and 66: aircraft, the world has chosen to l
Page 67 and 68: Former President Bill Clinton, who
Page 69 and 70: epresentative, was “review of the
Page 71 and 72: says: “The governments of India a

Conflict in Sri Lanka: Ground Realities - Tamil Nation & Beyond

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