LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran has warned his cadres that there must be no disruption of the start of peace talks which are scheduled for September 16 by any incidents in the North and East, according to sources in LTTE areas.

In a message to area leaders, Prabhakaran has stressed that they ensure that cadres in their areas are made aware of the importance of the peace talks to the LTTE, and that nothing must be done which could be interpreted as being a sign that any part of the LTTE is against the negotiations, sources said.

Prabhakaran is well aware of the fact that a serious incident might cause the talks to be postponed, and that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s political foes would use it to undermine the government and the peace process.

The talks are scheduled to be held from September 16-18 in a still unnamed Thai city. 

Prabhakaran is acutely aware of the symbolic importance of the start of long-term peace talks, although in reality, the two sides have been discussing and negotiating many matters since the ceasefire began in March.  Bernard Gunatilleke, the veteran diplomat who is heading the Peace Secretariat, met with LTTE representatives in Kilinochchi this week, in the latest such meeting.

Interestingly, the agenda for the three days of talks has not yet been finalized, but it is likely to include some elaborate ceremonies and photo sessions for the benefit of the media.  Both the government and the LTTE are anxious that the talks be seen to be achieving something towards a permanent peace.  The Norwegian government is also quite keen to get as much exposure from the peace talks as possible, since this is the vindication of nearly four years of hard work and risk taking on the part of the Norwegians, who have come under much criticism from radicals on both sides for having a hidden agenda or being partial to one side or the other.

“Prabhakaran is acutely aware of the symbolic importance of the start of long-term peace talks, although in reality, the two sides have been discussing and negotiating many matters since the ceasefire began in March.  Bernard Gunatilleke, the veteran diplomat who is heading the Peace Secretariat, met with LTTE representatives in Kilinochchi this week, in the latest such meeting”.

The level of alertness and tension among LTTE cadres has risen and fallen several times during the ceasefire.  The Valachchenai clashes two months ago were the most serious, when LTTE cadres prepared to go to war if the situation grew worse during the LTTE clashes with Muslims in the East.  Another time of tension was when President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga was threatening to dissolve Parliament, in which case the entire peace process would have fallen flat under a People’s Alliance caretaker government.

However, the Northeast is in a fairly relaxed mood at the moment, with no major incidents occurring for nearly two months now.  The agreement reached between the government and the LTTE to allow free sea passage to the Tigers along the coastline removed a major obstacle which had been threatening the ceasefire since its inception.  Although the government has constantly complained to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission that the Sea Tigers are violating terms of the agreement by plying too close to the coast and are not maintaining the speed limit, there have been no serious incidents arising from these violations.

The LTTE has also been careful not to risk confrontations with naval gunboats, and has not attempted to bring in any stocks of weapons for more than a month now, sources said.

LTTE representative and Norwegian diplomats have already discussed the method by which the Tiger negotiating team will travel from Wanni to Thailand.  However, no final decision has yet been made.  The most likely mode of travel will once again be by seaplane from Irananamadu Tank direct to Thailand.  The possibility of stopping to refuel in India has already been rejected, since it would place the Indian government in an embarrassing situation politically.

The LTTE remains a banned organization in India, due to the Tigers’ assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.  Although the Indian government has looked favourably on the peace talks, it is not possible for India to lift its ban, since a number of Tigers, including Prabhakaran and Intelligence Wing Leader Pottu  Amman, are wanted by Indian courts in connection with the assassination.

Sri Lanka plans to lift the ban on the LTTE a few days before the talks, as a gesture of goodwill.  In addition, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is aware that holding talks with a banned organization would allow groups opposed to the talks to challenge the government’s negotiations in court, and even to obtain an injunction against the holding of talks.

One possible mode of travel for the LTTE negotiating team is to travel from the Wanni to the Katunayake airport and board a regular or special flight from Colombo to Bangkok.  However, the government is not in favour of the LTTE team traveling by road since it would pose a security threat.  An alternative that the Ministry of Defence has considered is to fly the LTTE from the Wanni to Katunayake in air force helicopters.  However, no final decision has yet been taken, and the LTTE is likely to choose the seaplane route since it is the safest, sources said.

Dr. Anton Balasingham, who is to head the LTTE team for the talks, is likely to fly direct to Thailand from Europe.  Dr. Balasingham held talks in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, this week, with Minister Milinda Moragoda and Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen.

Meanwhile, the LTTE is planning to send a number of journalists from its own publications to cover the peace talks in Thailand in order to gain maximum propaganda use of the negotiations and to portray to the world that the Tigers are genuinely serious about peace, sources said.  At least three journalists and photographers are likely to be sent, and the help of the Norwegian government is likely to be sought to make logistics and travel arrangements for these journalists.

Some 300 journalists from Sri Lanka, India, and Southeast Asia are likely to cover the peace talks.