The failure of the Geneva Peace Talks between the government and the LTTE was an expected one. The peace Talks ended without a consensus and without an agreement for the next one. Both delegations are returning to Sri Lanka without creating an atmosphere for peace.

At the commencement of the Talks, the international community cautioned that they are frustrated over the progress of the peace talks. At the conclusion of the Talks, they appealed to the government and LTTE to desist from taking any extreme measures that can add to the suffering of the innocent civilians.

They also indicated that they were going to discuss with both parties and explore the possibilities of taking the peace process forward.

Before the departure of both delegations there was no understanding between them to draw up a common agenda. It is now clear that they went to the negotiating table to put forward their own propositions.

The LTTE wanted to discuss the humanitarian problems in the North-East while the government insisted on discussing political issues. LTTE demanded the reopening of the A9 highway while the government insisted that closure was necessary for security reasons.

The LTTE demanded that the government should spell out its position regarding the A9 highway prior to fixing the next date for talks. But the government declared that they were not prepared to do so.

The LTTE maintained that the closure of the A9 high way is a breach of the Ceasefire Agreement and that normalcy can be restored in the Jaffna peninsula in the North-East only if the Ceasefire agreement is implemented fully.

The government must realize that there was a time when the then government could not implement the opening of the A9 high way even by sacrificing not hundreds but thousands of troops. It is strange now they are prepared to do any thing to keep it closed.

The racist forces that conducted propaganda against the Norway facilitators and the CFA will now direct their propaganda against the re-opening of the A9 highway.

There will be a sinister propaganda to incite feelings against the Tamils. This is going to be raised as an issue of false prestige in the south The government must view the re-opening of the high way not really as a demand by the LTTE but as an issue related to the welfare of the Tamil people.

An English translation of the Editorial in Thinakkural, a Tamil daily, based in Colombo

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