Colombo, Sri Lanka: When President Rajapakse discussed the current crisis with newspaper Editors and heads of the electronic media at breakfast on June 1, he proclaimed his political philosophy and programmes. The President’s meeting with the media heads, took place exactly forty eight hours after the Co-Chair countries met for the eighth time in Tokyo, deliberated on the Sri Lanka issue and made their joint declaration.

We would like to point out that the Co-chair donor countries should give serious thoughts to the views expressed by the President at is breakfast meeting.

President at the outset stated that his was a new government, that he proposed a new approach to issues, and that he was not bound by the decisions or steps taken by any former government to resolve the ethnic issue. What is implied is that he is not going to recognize or respect the Oslo declarations, the resolutions adopted at six rounds of talks since 2002 till 2005 and the agreements reached at those talks.

This was in a way his response to the declarations made by co-chair countries only forty eight hours before .The Tokyo declaration clearly pointed out that both parties recognized as basis for future talks the deliberations during the period between 2002—2003 and that they guaranteed the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and the decisions at their talks including the last Geneva talks.

What really is the response of the Co-chair countries and the European Union to this proclamation by the President? The President was almost promptly responding to the Tokyo declaration

The President goes back on the earlier commitments of both parties for a federal solution, ceasefire agreement, ISGA etc due to the pressures by his hard liners.

Will the EU and co-Chair countries take meaningful steps to ensure peace or will they remain passive by issuing statements?

An English translation of the Editorial in Sudar Oli, a Tamil National Daily, based in Colombo

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