Britain urges Govt, LTTE to resume talks

Rajmi Manatunga

COLOMBO: British High Commissioner Dominick Chilcott yesterday called upon the Government and the LTTE to seize the present opportunity to resume negotiations towards finding a lasting political solution to the ethnic conflict.

Expressing the United Kingdom's support for Tuesday's statement issued by the Co-Chairs urging the two parties to return to the negotiating table, Chilcott said that the early cessation of hostilities and a renewed commitment to the Ceasefire Agreement was the wish of all who have the best interests of Sri Lanka at heart.

"We want to see an early cessation of hostilities, a renewed and sincere commitment by both sides to honour the spirit and letter of the CFA and, without a long delay, the resumption of talks on an overall settlement," Chilcott said addressing a ceremony in Colombo to launch the Land mine Monitor Report 2006.

He said that the UK has learned from its experience in Northern Ireland that conflicts cannot be solved through military action alone. "What will eventually stop the fighting here, as in other conflicts around the globe, is when the people themselves have had enough of war and make that clear and when all the parties to the conflict believe they have the opportunity, through a credible political process, to achieve at least some of their aspirations," he said.

The British High Commissioner also commended initiatives taken by the Government through the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) to formulate a constitutional framework capable of addressing the national problem.

"To its credit, the Government is putting together the elements of such a political process. One of the key pieces in that will be the framework for a new constitutional dispensation in Sri Lanka. There is a huge responsibility on those working on this question, under the auspices of the All Party Conference, to get this aspect right".

Appreciating the role of the Sri Lanka Army in de-mining activities he urged the Government to become a signatory to the Ottawa Treaty of 1997 which requires State parties to give up the use of land mines.

"Doing this now, at a time when tensions are high and when fighting has intensified, would send a particularly strong signal to people in the North and East. It could go a long way to reinforcing confidence in the Government among the people of those areas," he added.