At a recent meeting with Dr. Alyssa Ayres, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian affairs, TNA MP Selvam Adaikkalanathan and P. Sritharan called for a facilitator role by the US in this respect.
Asked for a comment, TNA Media Spokesman MP Suresh Premachandran said that his party welcomes such international facilitation if possible. Mr. Premachandran said that it could be the United National, the Commonwealth Association, the SAARC or the European Union.
“There is no favoured choice in this case. However, we are for an external facilitator if the government is willing,” he said. Yet, he said that the TNA had not officially called for such intervention at the moment.
There is a stalemate in talks at the moment after the government insisted that the TNA should nominate its members to the Parliamentary Select Committee for the evolution of a political party in consensus with all the parties in Parliament. The TNA has made reservations over its participation in this case.
In late 1990s, former President Chandrika Kumaratunga invited Norway to play of the role of facilitator for talks between the government and the LTTE. The UNP that came to power in 2001 also accepted the Norwegian role and initiated peace talks with the LTTE after signing a peace accord. The accord was abrogated after President Mahinda Rajapaksa came to power in 2005. The government was critical of the role played by Norway. (Kelum Bandara)
DM