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Lanka risks being `relegated to backwaters of history`: Ranil
Colombo, May 29: Warning that the country risked being relegated to the `backwaters of history` if the peace talks did not succeed, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said today that he realised the frustration of Tamil Tiger rebels at the slow progress of peace talks but asked them to be `more understanding.`
Colombo, May 29: Warning that the country risked being relegated to the "backwaters of history" if the peace talks did not succeed, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said today that he realised the frustration of Tamil Tiger rebels at the slow progress of peace talks but asked them to be "more understanding."
Wickremesinghe warned of international interest and support for the peace process waning. "Unless we succeed this time with all of the international and national goodwill we have received, then we will be consigned to the backwaters of history for a further thirty or forty years,” said the PM of the Island-nation.
"Our people will become increasingly impoverished, our industries will struggle to compete in the world markets and many more people will die in a conflict without meaning," he said as Norway tried to salvage the peace bid after the Tigers announced a boycott to talks on April 21. Wickremesinghe said it was vital to revive the stalled bid to end the Island's devastating ethnic conflict despite the Tamil Tigers' feeling that little headway had been made at the Norway-sponsored negotiations. "The Tigers must also be more understanding," he said.
"It is little wonder that the LTTE have been frustrated by the speed with which we have been able to act," Wickremesinghe told the Council for Asian Liberals and Democrats meeting here. "We too have been frustrated at the time it has taken to implement even the most simple of measures."
He said decisions on reconstructing the war-hit zones and rehabilitating the displaced taken during six rounds of negotiations had been slow to get implemented, mostly due to administrative glitches. While admitting the government's inaction, Wickremesinghe called for more tolerance from the rebels. "Matching expectations with delivery has and always will be the hardest part. Frankly the LTTE have to be a little more understanding of the issues involved. Demanding is one thing, delivering is never straightforward."
He called the break in talks after making initial gains as "cleansing and beneficial," adding it gave both sides time to take stock of their positions.
He said the government had sought to overcome some of the problems by setting up a subcommittee of peace negotiators on both sides to see if it could speed up the process. The LTTE last week called for an interim administration to control the disputed regions in the north and east of the Island. The government responded by suggesting it would set up a body to handle the rebuilding of the conflict-affected areas.
The LTTE's violent campaign to carve an independent state for ethnic Tamils has claimed over 60,000 lives. The two sides opened talks in September against the backdrop of a ceasefire monitored by a team of Scandinavians.
Bureau Report
"Our people will become increasingly impoverished, our industries will struggle to compete in the world markets and many more people will die in a conflict without meaning," he said as Norway tried to salvage the peace bid after the Tigers announced a boycott to talks on April 21. Wickremesinghe said it was vital to revive the stalled bid to end the Island's devastating ethnic conflict despite the Tamil Tigers' feeling that little headway had been made at the Norway-sponsored negotiations. "The Tigers must also be more understanding," he said.
"It is little wonder that the LTTE have been frustrated by the speed with which we have been able to act," Wickremesinghe told the Council for Asian Liberals and Democrats meeting here. "We too have been frustrated at the time it has taken to implement even the most simple of measures."
He said decisions on reconstructing the war-hit zones and rehabilitating the displaced taken during six rounds of negotiations had been slow to get implemented, mostly due to administrative glitches. While admitting the government's inaction, Wickremesinghe called for more tolerance from the rebels. "Matching expectations with delivery has and always will be the hardest part. Frankly the LTTE have to be a little more understanding of the issues involved. Demanding is one thing, delivering is never straightforward."
He called the break in talks after making initial gains as "cleansing and beneficial," adding it gave both sides time to take stock of their positions.
He said the government had sought to overcome some of the problems by setting up a subcommittee of peace negotiators on both sides to see if it could speed up the process. The LTTE last week called for an interim administration to control the disputed regions in the north and east of the Island. The government responded by suggesting it would set up a body to handle the rebuilding of the conflict-affected areas.
The LTTE's violent campaign to carve an independent state for ethnic Tamils has claimed over 60,000 lives. The two sides opened talks in September against the backdrop of a ceasefire monitored by a team of Scandinavians.
Bureau Report