tamilweek.com/news-features

by D.B.S. Jeyaraj

The Sri Lankan Government is now willing to let the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam hire or charter private helicopters for domestic air transport.

Investment promotion minister and Government of Sri Lanka spokesperson at the Geneva talks, Rohitha Bogollagama, revealed yesterday that the Norwegian facilitators had been informed of this proposal on Monday April 17th.

The GOSL headed by President Mahinda Rajapakse is now willing to let the LTTE have private air transport for tiger leaders and cadres to fly between the Eastern Province and Northern province and vice versa.

According to Bogollagama, The GOSL is being flexible on the issue to help resolve the impasse that has arisen for staging phase two of the GOSL – LTTE talks in Geneva.

Now the LTTE could arrange for helicopters on their own with Norwegian help or let Oslo make the necessary logistical arrangements.

The Norwegians have informed the LTTE of the new proposal by the GOSL. The LTTE is expected to respond on Tuesday April 18th.

If the LTTE agrees to go along with the idea and arrange for private helicopters to transport their Eastern Province leaders and senior members to Kilinochchi for consultations with the leader Velupillai Pirapakaran the second round of talks at Geneva may take place on the newly scheduled dates of April 24th and 25th.

The problem arose primarily due to the refusal of the Government to provide helicopters to fly senior Eastern LTTE leaders for an important Central Committee meeting in Kilinochchi to be presided over by the tiger supremo.

The meeting was deemed of urgent importance to the LTTE in view of the decisions arrived at Geneva where the GOSL had agreed to disarm the alternative armed groups or paramilitaries in the East. The LTTE hierarchy required intensive and confidential discussions with the Eastern regional command on the subject.

The issue became extremely important against the backdrop of escalated anti – LTTE activity by some paramilitaries after the agreement reached in Geneva.

While the Govt agreed in Geneva to disarm the groups Army Commander Sarath Fonseka stated in Sri Lanka that there were no Karuna faction members in Govt controlled areas in the East.

Ironically the Karuna faction going under the name “Tamil Eelam Makkal Viduthalaip Puligal” opened an office on Govington street in the heart of Batticalao town with state security protection. Prior to Geneva these sections were supposedly holed up in the jungles of Polonnaruwa and Amparai.

The LTTE however requested state helicopters to fly the Eastern leaders out to Kilinochchi due to security considerations. The LTTE was paranoid about security after their former Eastern political commissar Kausalyan was killed with some others including former TULF Parliamentarian for Amparai Chandranehru Ariyanayagam while returning to the East from the North.

The killings took place at Welikande on the border of Batticaloa – Polonnaruwa districts within close proximity of army camps.

The Government however was reluctant to allow the air transport requested they were not required to do so in terms of the Ceasefire agreement.

Though there is no provision for such arrangements under the CFA former President Chandrika Kumaratunga and ex – Premier Ranil Wickremasinghe had extended this courtesy in the interests of promoting the peace process.

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and Jathika Hela Urumaya criticized this strongly while in the opposition saying there was no obligation on the part of the Government to help the LTTE in this manner and that the tigers could not demand it as a right.

Political observers felt that President Rajapakse elected with the help of the JVP and JHU was also of the same opinion.

With the GOSL remaining inflexible on providing helicopter transport the LTTE took up the position that attending the Geneva summit would not be possible unless and until the Eastern regional leaders came to Kilinochchi for consultations.
One alternative suggested by the GOSL was that the LTTE could travel on a navy vessel to the North. The LTTE refused.
Oslo then came up with the idea that the LTTE could travel on a private ship arranged for by the Monitoring mission and that Monitors including the new head Ulf Hendricsson would travel along on board.

Though this was agreed upon the plan failed as the LTTE called it off abruptly saying that the passage was being escorted and monitored by naval vessels of Sri Lanka. The LTTE charged that the initial arrangement expressly forbade the Navy from being involved.

The GOSL denied the charge and said that the original arrangement did not preclude the navy. Subsequently the SLMM also confirmed that position and stated that the LTTE had indeed been informed earlier that the travel arrangement included naval escort too.

The situation ended in a grave stalemate with LTTE political Commissar Suppiah Paramu Thamilselvan informing Oslo envoy Hans Brattaskar that the LTTE could not attend the second round at Geneva without the Eastern leaders coming to the North.

The LTTE had sought and obtained a postponement of talks by a few days on the same basis.

With an impasse setting in and violence spreading on ground intensive international pressure was exerted on Colombo to be more flexible.

The plan to let the LTTE arrange for air transport through private helicopters is seen as a practical compromise between the intransigence of earlier stances.

If this plan becomes feasible then it is very likely that the LTTE would be using private helicopters to fly out from Kiklinochchi to Katunayake enroute to Geneva.

Everything depends however on the LTTE being accommodative to the new proposal.

Many political observers are puzzled by the LTTE stance because it is felt that the tigers gained the upper hand in Geneva the previous conclave. It is also felt that the LTTE will have the high ground this time too as the GOSL has defaulted so far on implementing accord reached in Geneva earlier.

Though the GOSL accuses the LTTE of wanting to keep away from Geneva it is more to the advantage of the tigers to attend Geneva than keep away.

There is a school of thought in Colombo which believes that Rajapakse reluctantly consented to allow private helicopter transport due to Indian pressure.

The “Thinamurasu” reported that Health minister Nimal Siripala de Silva made a “confidential” trip to New Delhi to consult with Indian officials on the issue.

Earlier Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had spoken on the telephone with Mahinda Rajapakse about issues like Trincomalee violence, peace process. Civilian security etc.

Manmohan Singh had been particularly concerned about Tamil civilians being affected in Trinco.

When Singh reached out to Colombo first Rajapakse was apparently unavailable. The Sri Lankan president called Singh after getting briefed on Trinco.

India allowed Colombo to release the news on its own and the Presidential secretariat news release has its own spin stating that Rajapakse called Singh and also that the Indian PM never spoke about civilian security in Trincomalee. Indian media reports though playing the issue on a low key have contradicted the Colombo “googly”.

It is believed that consequent to Nimal Siripala’s visit New Delhi has impressed upon Colombo the urgent need to continue with the Geneva talks.

Colombo’s sudden flexibility on air transport is due to this factor it is believed.

It is however to be expected that the Sinhala hardliners will protest against this new proposal too. It remains to be seen whether the proposal to allow private helicopters for the LTTE will literally and metaphorically get off the ground. [transCurrents.com]

contact DBS Jeyaraj : djeyaraj2005@yahoo.com