Fresh boost for peace process

By Uditha Jayasinghe

With war over, the crucial peace process appears to be back on track as several recent key developments giving a fresh boost to a permanent solution to multi-decade old conflict.
UN Under Secretary General for Political Affairs, Lynn Pascoe will be arriving in Sri Lanka today on a three day visit and is expected to meet with President Mahinda Rajapaksa for discussions regarding a political solution and resettlement of internally displaced people, according to the Foreign Ministry.
The invitation was preceded by a telephone conversation between President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on Monday.

* UN Under Secretary
General for Political Affairs in town for key talks
* UNP willing to consider APRC proposals puts political solution ball in Mahinda’s court
* Tissa Vitharana welcomes Opposition sentiments; says proposals extensive needs time for careful study In the backdrop of this visit UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe called on the President to publicly declare his stance on the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) proposals, which were handed over to him three weeks ago and commence discussions with other political parties before the end of this month. Speaking at the swearing in ceremony for Uva opposition provincial council members he noted that it was his belief that a “vast majority” of the suggestions in the APRC proposals were agreeable to the UNP and therefore could be subjected to discussions without further delay.
“Even if these proposals do not achieve the goals of the UNP we are nonetheless keen to consider them carefully and present whatever support that is in our power to ensure peace. We must concentrate on the fact that an effort is being made in this regard and it is our duty as representatives of the people to evaluate the progress that has already been made. This is a step in the right direction and we must support it,” UNP leader Wickremesinghe said yesterday.
In response APRC Chairman Prof. Tissa Vitharana told The Bottom Line that he applauded the sentiments expressed by the Opposition Leader but maintained that he was unaware of any response from the President or what the next step would be. “I’m very pleased with the comments the UNP Leader has made. However, the proposal that have been handed over to the President is rather extensive and he will need some time to carefully deliberate on them before he can make his stance clear. This will take time.”
He emphasised that President Rajapaksa had not contacted him after the proposals were handed over and no further meeting was scheduled in this regard for the immediate future. “The President must now decide how these proposals should proceed,” Prof. Vitharana admitted expressing confidence that a response would be forthcoming, though it might take time.
Meanwhile, UN Under Secretary General for Political Affairs, Lynn Pascoe’s visit takes place against the background of ongoing cooperation between Sri Lanka and the UN on a number of post-conflict issues discussed during the visit of the UN Secretary General to Sri Lanka in May this year. Lynn Pascoe was a member of the UN Secretary General’s delegation on that occasion, noted a press release from the Foreign Ministry.
The statement further said that during his visit Pascoe will hold discussions with a number of Ministers and senior representatives of the Government dealing with matters related to ongoing progress on post-conflict issues such as humanitarian assistance, resettlement of IDPs and the political process.  Pascoe is also expected to visit the IDP centers in the North.
International media reports had quoted Pascoe at a press conference before he left as saying “We have been concerned about the pace of progress since the secretary-general was out there. We’re particularly concerned about the people in the camps, and getting them out, getting them home. The secretary-general said that he would like for me to go out fairly quickly to deal with follow-up issues and where they’re going. President Rajapaksa agreed and so I’ll be in Sri Lanka with a small team.”