Negotiated deal the best but...

S. Abeywickrama, The Island, Asia News Network, Colombo, Sri Lanka

At a recent press conference Chief Negotiator of the Srilanka (GOSL) team Prof. G. L. Peiris invited the critics of the Srilanka-Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) peace process to present alternative proposals, if they had any, to end the war and usher in peace.

No critic of the peace process has, made any alternative proposal; all of them admit that a negotiated settlement is the only answer but that the negotiations must be conducted in such a manner as to solve the problem keeping the country in one piece and that the solution has to be an honorable one to all concerned with no party being more equal than the other.

At the time the LTTE declared a unilateral ceasefire it was in a very weak position, a pariah in the eyes of the international community, and the GOSL in position of strength with a large number of powerful foreign countries behind it thanks to the good work done by former foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar.

However, the GOSL failed miserably to exploit this situation to its advantage and instead, from the very beginning capitulated to the LTTE due to the naivete of all those involved in the peace process.

The MOU signed behind the back of the President and the Parliament was highly flawed and one-sided; it took four months after signing the MOU to start talks and in the meantime the LTTE was given almost everything they wanted and this was euphemistically called "confidence building measures" but the LTTE made use of this period to establish themselves in even in government controlled areas and amass arms and ammunition, forcibly conscript children for their army and to collect taxes, to slowly but steadily put in place the administrative infrastructure for a future Eelam.

The GOSL created all the opportunities for the LTTE to gain international recognition by allowing it to appeal direct for funds for resettlement, rehabilitation and reconstruction.

The GOSL gave tax free powerful radio equipment with the connivance of the Norwegian Embassy; gives VVIP treatment at the Air Port to the LTTE cadres who participate in the peace talks by transporting their baggages without any security checks and entertaining them in the high security zones of the airport; vehemently refused to accommodate an opposition member or a Sinhalese in the peace talks or include a Sinhalese on any of the committees so far appointed.

The GOSL team also failed to take up the issues in any logical order starting with the core issues because they didn't have the courage to stand up to the LTTE team and most foolishly acted according to the LTTE agenda.

After five rounds of talks spending may be billions nothing tangible has been achieved.

What the critics have been demanding all the time is that the GOSL negotiators should have made use of the position Sri Lanka enjoyed at the beginning and negotiated like true negotiators and not become yesmen of the LTTE.

But can they do so now? Isn't it too late to change course because the LTTE has already taken the upper hand?