The Conflict in Sri Lanka: Ground Realities - Ilankai Tamil Sangam

Rajapakse has not put forward an alternative agenda for any
meaningful dialogue except to say “the political solution to a
lasting peace should be based on a consensus reached through
discussion among all parties linked to the problem and it should
receive the approval of the majority of the people of the country”.
Pirapaharan said in his Heroes’ Day speech that a critical
evaluation of Rajapakse’s policy statement revealed that he had
failed to grasp the fundamentals. However, the LTTE considered
Rajapakse a realist committed to pragmatic politics and wanted
to find out how he was going to handle the peace process and
whether he would offer justice to the Tamil people. Pirapaharan’s
idea of a reasonable solution is based on the recognition of the
Sri Lankan Tamils as a nation, and of this nation’s right to selfdetermination.
This is a question of Colombo’s sovereignty over
the Tamils living in the North-east. The Sri Lanka government
surrendered its sovereignty over 70 per cent of the north-east
under the control of the LTTE while signing the Memorandum
of Understanding on the ceasefire with the militant group on 23
February 2003.
Article 1.4 of the MoU says: “Where forward defence localities
have been established, the Sri Lankan armed forces and the
LTTE’s fighting formations shall hold their ground positions”.
This gave the LTTE the space and legitimacy to continue to build
its parallel state structure within the lines of control. The LTTE
celebrated the legitimacy thus gained by hoisting Eelam flags,
declaring a national flower different from Colombo’s, establishing
the Eelam police force and courts of law and even setting up
customs posts at the Omantha and Muhamalai checkpoints to
project an image of a separate de facto state.
With increasing skirmishes between the Sri Lankan armed forces,
paramilitaries and the LTTE, the situation is heading towards a
resumption of war. Rajapakse is relying heavily on the 1987 Indo-
Sri Lanka Agreement signed by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and
President Jayewardene which took away Sri Lanka’s sovereign
right to freely enter into military or intelligence relationships with
any external power other than India. Article 2.16 of the agreement
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