New Delhi
24 May 2006
European Union's decision in principle to proscribe the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has caused some concern in Norway whose chief
negotiator, Erik Solheim, prepares to travel to Colombo on Thursday.
Observers of the Sri Lankan peace process feel Norway fears the decision to proscribe
the LTTE may not help subside tensions. Solheim's associate, Jon Hannsen Bauer, has
already arrived in the island nation to take stock of the situation.
Mr Bauer has said that the progress of the peace process Lanka would depend on how
the two parties saw a possible EU ban on the LTTE. He and Mr Solheim are expected to
meet with President Mahinda Rajapaksa and SP Thamilselvan of LTTE.
Mr Solheim, in turn, has said listing the LTTE as a terrorist outfit would mean that
Norway might become more isolated in the Sri Lankan peace process. Norway, which is
not a member of the EU, follows the UN list of proscribed groups.
Ahead of Solheim's visit to Colombo, India has said she expected "greater flexibility"
from the Lankan Government and a "major effort" to prevent escalation of violence. "We
are worried," said a source when asked for India's assessment.
New Delhi has welcomed the EU decision to proscribe the LTTE. It has also conveyed to
Sri Lanka that the issue of "settlement needs to be addressed" and that a "variant of
Indian federal structure" may offer a solution to the problem.
The European Parliament's resolution on the situation in Sri Lanka "calls on the
Commission and the Member States [to] follow the example of other countries and to
freeze the assets of the LTTE-associated bank accounts, holdings, companies or
undertakings in Member States of the European Union"
It also reads, "[The] LTTE does not represent all the Tamil peoples of Sri Lanka and
[LTTE should] allow for political pluralism and alternate democratic voices in the
northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka which would secure the interests of all peoples
and communities".
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