COUNCIL OF LEGAL AND OTHER EXPERTS TO ADVISE TAMIL TIGERS AS HOW TO ACHIEVE A SEPARATE STATE OUT OF INTERIM GOVT. PROPOSALS
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles
July 18.08.55 AM:The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is assembling a consultative committee to advise its leadership and negotiators on what aspects of the Ranil Wickremesinghe government proposals would help make way for the rebel group’s separatist aspirations enabling them to achieve those goals in the future.
Political sources in Jaffna said carving out the future separate state called Eelam from the current Sri Lanka territory would be the main criteria on which the government’s proposals would be considered or rejected in the proposed talks soon.
Norway’s special envoy John Westborg met LTTE’s political head S. Thamilselvan and Pulidevan to discuss and hand over Ranil Wickremesinghe government’s interim government proposals to the rebel group. Thamilselvan reportedly told Westborg that the reaction of the LTTE would be conveyed to Westborg soon after Prabhakaran studied the proposals. The panel of experts would advise Prabhakaran on the proposals, sources said.
The London based organ of the LTTE, the Tamil Guardian, in its issue of July 16, 2003 said the consultative committee or panel of experts would consist of LTTE supporters of Tamil academics and other experts to advise the separatist rebel group on the government’s proposals on the interim government. Sources said a law lecturer who has been justifying the separatist struggle of the LTTE at the Colombo University and another academic from the Singapore University of similar sentiments have been seriously considered so far for the expert panel.
Government’s chief negotiator G.L. Peiris said in Colombo that the UNF government did not expect a quick response from the rebel group since deep contemplation of the government proposals was necessary to consider them. Calling the proposals not final, Peiris said until they got a response from the LTTE it was not proper to subject them to a public discussion. He said abiding by the promise of Ranil Wickremesinghe to forward specific proposals for an interim administration to the rebel group to run the Eastern and Northern Provinces of Sri Lanka the proposals were sent to Kilinochchi for consideration.
"The LTTE are in the process of putting together a committee of experts which will act in a consultative capacity in the discussions that are expected to ensue following the Sri Lankan government submitting its proposals for an interim administration," The LTTE organ quoted rebel officials as saying. The LTTE official also told their organ,
"It is also expected that the committee will advise the negotiating team on legal and constitutional aspects of future negotiations."
Meanwhile the Sri Lanka based pro-LTTE publication Uthayan said in the past the Ranil Wickremesinghe government came to certain agreements with the rebel group at six peace negotiations but later told them constitutional and legal complications were main obstacles to implement them. It further quoted LTTE officials as saying, "Therefore, LTTE feels that in future talks it is important that such issues are addressed before agreements are made."
The peace negotiations between the government and the LTTE has been stalled ever since the rebel group demanded an interim government for the Northern and Eastern Provinces with LTTE dominance, out side the constitution of Sri Lanka
