PRESS CONFERENCE BY PRESIDENT OF SRI LANKA

PRESS CONFERENCE BY PRESIDENT OF SRI LANKA

In the world’s fight against terrorism, the use of force and violence by a State should be the last resort, Sri Lanka’s President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga said this afternoon at a Headquarters press conference.  Calling terrorism “the most dehumanizing, the most horrendous phenomenon of our times”, she stated that there were, nevertheless, alternative ways of handling it.  She said that U.S. President George W. Bush, in his speech before the General Assembly earlier today, seemed to argue that the main strategy of meeting terrorism in the world is through force, a view with which she disagreed.

Asked by a journalist what perspective Sri Lanka has to offer the world about the strategies to use in the fight against terrorism, she said her government believed that the way to resolve conflict was through negotiations and dialogue.  “Even if the expression of the conflict may take the most horrendous terroristic forms, we believe that there are justified reasons for it”, she said, arguing that legitimate grievances must be considered apart from the acts of violence.  She said there was, perhaps, no better organization than the United Nations to identify and address the root causes of terrorism. The international community could deal with Al-Qaida and Saddam Hussein more effectively and more durably using this approach.

When asked whether the results of U.S. elections might affect Sri Lanka’s willingness to offer assistance in Iraq, she stated that, “Whoever is the President of the United States, we will not send troops to Iraq because we do not believe that war is the solution”.

The Government of Sri Lanka continued to seek a negotiated solution to the country’s own armed conflict, which had lasted for two decades.  A ceasefire had held for two-and-a-half years, she said, though she accused the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of some violations.  In particular, she said the Tigers were responsible for child conscription and the illegal collection of taxes in the north and east of the country.

Ten years ago, her Government had made the first overture to the Tigers to resolve the conflict through a negotiated settlement, she said.  Since then, various governments had attempted negotiations; however the Tigers repeatedly had “kicked the process in the teeth and walked away”, she said.

Currently, the LTTE was not engaged in a direct dialogue with the Government, but its leaders had reiterated a commitment not to go back to war.  She said the Government of Sri Lanka also remained committed not to go back to armed conflict.  “We remain committed to the concept that we do not like war”, she said.  “We are determined to do our maximum to persuade our adversaries, the LTTE, to engage in the process of negotiations in order that we can together formulate a satisfactory and lasting solution to the conflict.”  The Government of Norway continued to play an active and dynamic role in pursuing talks with the LTTE.

The Tigers would like to see what they call an “interim, self-governing authority” established before continuing discussions about a final resolution of the conflict, she said.  Her Government was “not satisfied” with this approach, and would prefer to discuss what would be the shape of a final solution before establishing any interim arrangement.  She mentioned that there were proposals for interim arrangements in various constitutional reform proposals her party had put forward.  Her Government continued to view the extensive devolution of power, “a kind of federal state”, as the key to resolving the conflict.  This proposal was first offered by her Government nine years ago in the form of a new draft constitution.  She did not know what else the Government could do short of handing over the country to the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.

She thanked the international community for its support of the peace process, mentioning the European Union, the United States, India, and Japan.  Donors had responded to a conference linking development with peace with a large amount of funding for development projects in Sri Lanka’s war-affected areas.

The Government also had restructured its development programme to prioritize rural development, including roads, electricity, drinking water, and housing.  Sri Lanka enjoyed good education and health indicators, she said, with statistics comparable to those in the developed world.  Literacy rates stood at 95 per cent, average life expectancy was age 73, and infant mortality was low.

In response to a question about the role of women, she noted high levels of women’s participation at every level of Sri Lankan society.  The exception was in government, where the proportion of women in Parliament and in provincial councils remained very low.  “Male chauvinism reigns supreme in the political arena”, she said.

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