Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Colombo (Fides Service) - After months of stalemate and uncertainty there are new hopes for peace in Sri Lanka, according to local Fides sources. “Hopes for peace were low and we feared the situation would degenerate. But we hope there will be a gradual improvement. We hope that the conflicting parties, tired of war, will renounce some of their claims and opt for the good of the people which in the last year has been able to enjoy a more normal life and an atmosphere which promises peace” the sources told Fides.
One good sign is that Erik Solheim the Norwegian mediator has just returned to Sri Lanka. He will have meetings with the government and with the Tamil separatists and try to convinced them return to the negotiating table. Talks between to two parties stalled over a year ago. Solheim will meet political leaders in Colombo and then travel north to meet the leaders of the Tamil rebels who last week said they were ready to resume talks with the government.
One fundamental question, according to Fides sources, is to restore trust between the different parties which has been eroded by episodes of violence reported in recent months, particularly with regard to division in the Tamil group which has split into two fronts: the rebels are divided in two factions and a new leader has emerged Karuna, whom the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) say is backed by the government.
Recently President Kumaratunga said she was ready to resume talks with the LTTE, however observers say the position of Kaduna will have to be made clear before negotiations can be resumed.
In a recent report Human Rights Watch said that although a cease-fire was signed over two years ago hostilities have not stopped. Signs of tension have been reported by European observers in various parts of Sri Lanka who say the cease-fire has been broken many times by both sides.
Concerned for the success of the peace process the Catholic Bishops of Sri Lanka continue to encourage the parties not to leave the path to peace: “do not resort to violence, do not fall back into the dark era of hatred and war” the Bishops say. In the meantime Sri Lanka’s Catholics of Sinhalese and Tamil ethnic origin serve as bridges to bring the two communities together, especially among the young people, the hope of the island.
(PA) (Agenzia Fides 15/9/2004 lines 28 word 282)
