Ambassador Bernard Goonatilake, who participated in the talks between the Government and the Liberation Tigers in 2002-2003, said that the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) was signed without any serious negotiations on the text presented by the Norwegian mediators with inputs from LTTE theoretician Anton Balansingham. It was full of shortcomings that could be seen as beneficial to the LTTE.

Appearing as the first witness at the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Strategic Studies today, he said the government did not have any option other than entering into a ceasefire at that time, because of several factors such the military losing territory and camps including Elephant Pass, the attacks on the Katunayake Air Force Base and International Airport and economic growth falling below zero for the first time.

Mr. Goonatilake, former Ambassador to US and China, and first Secretary General of the Peace Secretariat, revealed that although the military wanted some amendments to the CFA draft, the LTTE did not accede to them. He pointed out that when the ceasefire came into operation in December 2001, there was no agreement to guide it. Hence it was decided to sign the CFA 'as early as possible'. “This had led to its many shortcomings,” he said.

The former ambassador also revealed that when the “Oslo Declaration” on a federal solution was announced, it appeared that Anton Balasingham was reprimanded by the LTTE leadership for going beyond the mandate given to him. When the LTTE wanted free movement for political activity outside North and East, the military wanted reciprocity. But that request was brushed aside by the LTTE.

When the need for international scrutiny of human rights in the north and east and was proposed, Mr. Balasingham said that there was no need for any international institute for scrutiny of alleged human rights violations in these areas. Mr. Goonatilake revealed that “Though LTTE generally expressed mistrust about the institutions in the South; on this issue Balasingham had said the Sri Lanka’s National Human Rights Commission could scrutinize the alleged human rights violations in the North and East. Mr. Goonatilake agreed with the Chairman of the Commission C R de Silva that this had been said when the government’s writ did not extend to some parts of the North and East.

“We also proposed a clause on child recruitment in the CFA, but Mr. Balasingham expressed opposition to that. When this matter was pursued in negotiations, Balasingham asked whether we would like to see his neck being cut, gesturing with his forefinger across his neck, as Ambassador Goonatilake demonstrated. He said the LTTE leadership did not want its delegation to cooperate with the government delegation.

The talks were limited to facilitating rehabilitation and reconstruction. The LTTE was not prepared to discuss any substantial issues, he said.

Answering questions posed by the Members of the Commission, Mr. Goonatilake said that although diehard LTTE Diaspora leaders, or pro-LTTE Tamil expatriates, would not give up their campaigns, the government should take effective action to win over the other Tamils living abroad. He said the Sri Lankan missions abroad could play a major role in this campaign, and that as in India there should be institutional arrangements to serve the interests and needs of Sri Lankan Tamils living abroad.

He said there was a danger in the Tamil youth living abroad, who are not aware of the situation here being misled by the pro-LTTE leaders. These pro-LTTE leaders were serving their own cause of raising funds, and to impress the Tamil community were engaged in lobbying foreign politicians and governments and international financial institutions against Sri Lanka.

The Commission sittings will continue in Colombo this week. Thereafter, the Commission is scheduled to sit in Vavuniya to facilitate the persons in the conflict affected areas to give evidence, when they can state their grievances and also state their problems of the past and present.

The period of inquiry of the Commission covers from the commencement of the Ceasefire Agreement of February 2002 to its manifest breakdown and the termination of the conflict situation in May 2009. The Commission comprises persons of eminence, representing the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural nature of Sri Lankan society. In appointing the Commission, President Rajapaksa expressed confidence that the Commissioners will discharge their responsibilities with a deep commitment to protect the dignity and independence of both this country and the Commission.

This inquiry stems from the President’s overriding interest in the need for restorative justice by the Sri Lankan people. Its findings will seek to take the Sri Lankan nation towards the common goals of a multi-ethnic polity, in a spirit of cooperation, partnership and friendship, learning the lessons from recent history to ensure that there will be no recurrence of such tragic conflict in the future.

In assessing the Lessons Learnt from the recent conflict phase there will be the search for any violations of internationally accepted norms of conduct in such conflict situations, and the circumstances that may have led to such actions, and identify any persons or groups responsible for such acts.

It is also expected that recommendations would be sought on the nature of compensation to be granted to the victims or their dependents who have suffered in this conflict situation, as well as the institutional, administrative and welfare measures already taken in the post-conflict phase, and should be further taken in order to effect reconstruction, rehabilitation and reconciliation.

The legislative and administrative measures that may be necessary in order to prevent such situations in the future, and to promote national unity and reconciliation among all communities is also part of the mandate issued to the Commission.