President Chandrika Kumaratunge’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly "does not reflect true factual position...We urge the President to refrain from making rhetorical statements and focus on resolute action that would enable the recommencement of talks and meaningful consensus-building that would ensure the success of the negotiations," said parliamentarians from Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in a press statement last week.
The Parliamentary Group of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) met on September 23 2004 to consider the statements made by President Kumaratunge relating to "Peace Negotiations" in Sri Lanka during the course of her address to the 59th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
It must not be forgotten that the initial reaction of the PA to the ISGA proposals was totally negative. The PA thereafter knowing very well the attitude of the JVP entered into an alliance with the JVP. This alliance resulted in the hardening of the position against the ISGA proposals and against the peace process. The President’s inability to take the peace process forward is clearly attributable to this situation. The President’s alliance partner within the Government, the JVP, has heightened its opposition to the ISGA proposals and the peace process. It is significant that the main opposition party, the United National Party (UNP) has urged the government to commence talks on the ISGA proposals and has publicly stated that it will support any agreement that is arrived at between the government and the LTTE after such discussions, TNA statement said.
The LTTE has repeatedly stated that it is eagerly awaiting the recommencement of the talks on the basis of the ISGA proposals, and that when the talks commence, any proposals that the Government may bring to the negotiating table in regard to the ISGA could also be discussed. This consistent position was once again conveyed to the special envoy of theNorwegian Government at a recent meeting, it said.
In this background, the statement made by the President in the course of her address to the United Nations that "the LTTE is refusing to return to the negotiating table" is singularly unfortunate, as it does not reflect the true factual position, it added.
