LANKALIBRARY FORUM

Why not the President and Prabhakaran meet through video link and talk?

Written By: Shenali Waduge

We have witnessed plenty of "talks" but no "solution". The President of the country has always been represented by his/her chosen representatives while the rebel leader Prabakaran opted for his choice of trusted lieutenants.

What we must essentially note is that what the two leaders (the President & Prabakaran) have in mind may be completely different to what these "Mediators" or representatives will be discussing. "what he said", "what he didn't say", "what he meant" and "what he didn't mean" has resulted in plenty of confusion that has become a backdrop to the present tensions we are experiencing.

Anton Balasingham and other "Strategists" carry a great stake in the LTTE cause, they are the men who collect the funds internationally and buy the weapons which Prabakaran and his men use to fight the Government. Prabakaran may be a dictator but he cannot discount the fact that if not for Balasinghams and the other troop of fund raisers - he would not have a single weapon to fight with and he may as well forget his eelaam.

Thus, when the two most important men (President Rajapakse & Prabakaran) are not involved in the talks directly confusion results and both leaders choose not to be accountable for decisions made. This delays any permanent solution to the problem at large. A good example is the Oslo-talks leading to Anton Balasingham signing on behalf of the LTTE the agreement for a federal solution. This was not what Prabakaran wanted and therefore the later retraction

Anyhow, the most practical thing to do at this juncture is for the two leaders to finally meet. Of course there is the question of physically meeting. Both leaders will cite security risks in meeting in public. Given the validity of their reservations to meet openly the next best thing would be to arrange a videoconferencing of the leaders (and their representatives) so that one-to-one they can discuss and debate about the issue at large.

The Norwegian facilitators can provide the technical expertise to see this meeting (or perhaps a series of meetings) through and it would be ideal to get the answers straight from the horses' mouth!
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Written By: Shenali Waduge