The Government seems to leave no stone unturned to close the door for negotiations. In fact the government is very hasty and impatient.

The government has prevented Jon Hanssen Bauer, special envoy of Norway, a facilitator for peace talks, from proceeding to Kilinocchi.

It was the government, not the LTTE that invited Norway as facilitator and this refusal of permission for Norway’s special envoy to visit Kilinocochi is unjustifiable. It is unethical for a government to give instructions to go or not to go in this manner according to their whims and fancies.

Norway consented to play the role as facilitator with a larger interest of finding a solution to the ethnic problem although Norway may have its own agenda. But that is another matter.

The refusal of permission to Bauer to go on his proposed visit does not appear to be a diplomatic move. Does the government think that there is a threat for his life in going on that visit. What has his visit got to do with government’s proposal to take a stern action against the LTTE?.

Bauer has come to Sri Lanka on a mission to save the CFA which can collapse any moment, as he feels that it is his duty as a facilitator. If the government is concerned with satisfying the hard-liners who demand that Norway should be ousted from the peace process then it can frankly say so.

Bauer’s visit to Kilinocochi will have nothing to do with the proposed ban on the LTTE or with the proposal to reactivate the prevention of terrorism act. How can Bauer meeting the LTTE representatives influence these decisions. It is really the government of Sri Lanka and not the Norway, not even Bauer who can make those decisions.

Does the government believe that through such insults Norway will on his own withdraw from its participation in the peace process and that thereby government can satisfy the extremist elements that are opposed to the peace process.

This refusal of permission to Bauer to go on his proposed visit to Kilinocochi by the government only portrays the fact that President Rajapakse who came to power on a mandate to resolve the ethnic problem through negotiations and not war is now contemplating to solve the problem through a military solution.

An English translation of the Editorial in Uthayan, a Tamil daily based in Jaffna

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed