Rajiva Wijesinha

“ Unfortunately for the LTTE, the democratic response of the people of Sri Lanka to such appeasement was a resounding rejection at the polls of the leadership that had eschewed discussion, tolerance and democracy. No Sri Lankan government will return to arbitrary authoritarianism, and it would be well if the international community as a whole, while promoting a negotiated settlement, also understood reality and did not suggest a continuing commitment to a quasi-fictional world of increasingly fiendish violence. ”

“ In Sri Lanka for instance, whilst much appreciating the enormous assistance rendered over the last twenty years by successive Indian governments, we understand that, when there is a coalition government, there might be varying emphases which must be respected. Some countries however, more used to dealing with monolithic governments, fail to understand this, just as they fail to understand that Sri Lanka has independent courts which no government can take for granted. ”

“ Discussion, tolerance for all opinions and a democratic dispensation that allows people to exercise choice are essential if peace is to return to Sri Lanka. The last time the LTTE summarily withdrew from talks, its intransigence nearly proved successful, when the then government offered it an Interim Self-Governing Authority in which it would dominate two provinces and all Pradeshiya Sabhas within them without any opportunity for the people to vote. ”