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Rebels reject Sri Lanka peace plan
KILINOCHCHI, Sri Lanka (CNN) -- Tamil rebels have rejected the Sri Lankan prime minister's plan for an interim authority for governing the northeastern part of this island nation. In the statement issued Wednesday, The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said they would take part in the negotiating process only when the Sri Lankan government lays out a clearly defined draft framework for an interim administrative structure for the northeastern region. "We are disappointed to note that the prime minister's statement does not offer anything new," the statement says. The statement comes the day after senior officials from dozens of countries and multilateral agencies finished two days of meetings in Tokyo to consider pledging billions of dollars of aid to Sri Lanka to strengthen attempts to end more than two decades of civil war. The rebels stayed away from the Tokyo conference, saying it did so to show the international community, the underwriters of the peace process, their dismay at the lack of progress on the ground where poverty is endemic, and dividends of nearly 18 months of cease-fire are hard to come by. The 51 countries and 21 international organizations represented at the conference pledged $4.5 billion over five years for development in Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said in his closing remarks. He said he regrets "that the LTTE are not with us here in Tokyo. Had they been here they too could have heard and been encouraged by these messages and shared in the success of this event. Our efforts at getting the LTTE back to the table will continue." U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, who attended the conference, told CNN this was an opportunity that couldn't be passed up.
"Now whether the LTTE or the rebels as you call them choose to participate or not, that's up to them," he said. "But the eye of history is going to judge very harshly those who don't seize this opportunity for peace. Not to mention the people of Sri Lanka who I believe will judge them harshly." The LTTE's statement said that the decisions at the Tokyo conference are not binding and criticized Wickremesinghe for "complicating the peace process" by allowing international involvement in what it describes as an "internal political affair." The rebels broke off peace talks with the government seven weeks ago, describing them as "a waste of time." They said many of the decisions taken during the six rounds of talks -- on steps that would have immediately improve conditions for hundreds of thousands of war-affected people in the north and the east of the country -- have not been implemented. The rebels want the Sri Lankan government to hand over administration of the north and the east to them as a condition for their return to the negotiating table. It's an almost impossible demand, say many observers. To grant the rebels an interim administration, the government needs to change the constitution, which in turn requires a two-thirds majority in parliament -- a majority the government does not enjoy. Also, opposition parties are accusing the government of trying to divide the country by giving too many concessions to the rebels. The Tamil statement Wednesday accuses Wickremesingha of "taking cover behind the laws and constitution of Sri Lanka, which have effectively institutionalized racism against which the Tamil people have been struggling for decades." The Tamil rebels propose "a radical transformation of the system of governance in Sri Lanka, through the institutionalization of a new, secular and equitable constitution which recognizes the Tamils' right to self-determination and homeland."
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