November 3, 2003	Monday	Ramazan 7, 1424

JAFFNA, Nov 2: Tired of a 20-year ethnic war that killed 64,000 people, Sri Lankans on Sunday welcomed a watershed power-sharing proposal by Tamil Tiger rebels that could revive stalled peace talks.

The proposal for a self-governing authority in the north and east was the first time the rebels put in writing an extensive roadmap to end the island’s conflict, though some among the majority Sinhalese community rejected it.

“It is a landmark proposal that Tamils everywhere have waited for,” said S. Mohanadas, the vice chancellor of the University of Jaffna in the north of the island.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said on Saturday an Interim Self-Governing Authority should have wide powers to tax, police, rebuild and use land in the war-battered north and east.

The government said the proposal could be taken up at peace talks despite the wide disparity between the rebel proposal and the wish for the central government to retain some control over policing, finances and land use.

“They (the government) will need a strong stomach for tough bargaining in the months ahead,” the editorial of the Sunday Times newspaper said.

Some saw the authority, with a majority of LTTE appointees, as a stepping stone for the rebels to create a separate state.

“We reject it. It should not be taken up for discussions,” said Tilvin Silva, the general secretary of the Marxist People’s Liberation Front, speaking to reporters in Colombo.

The group said it would hold protest rallies in the island.

A 20-month ceasefire, the longest lull in fighting, has raised hopes of an end to the conflict which has spurred the economy and boosted tourist arrivals.

R. Yogeshweran, a Tamil who fled to Canada after ethnic riots in 1983, said he returned last year, and an interim administration would lead to an inflow of Tamils living abroad.

The rebels want an interim administration until a final peace deal is reached, or for a maximum of five years. After that the rebels would call for elections.

“More and more Tamils are coming back. We are not comfortable living abroad,” Yogeshweran said, while driving a cab in Colombo.

But the LTTE is led by the ruthless and reclusive Velupillai Prabhakaran who is hidden in the jungles of the northern Wanni region and has the final say over decisions taken by the group.

“I think when they come into power they will change. I hope so,” said K. Kadiragamanathan, a medical student in Jaffna.

MUSLIMS’ COUNTER PEACE PLAN: Sri Lanka’s minority Muslims are preparing their own peace plan in response to a historic power-sharing proposal offered by Tamil Tiger rebels, the main Muslim party said in Colombo on Sunday.

The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) said its leadership, which is currently in London studying foreign devolution models, will finalise its proposals within two months.

The SLMC announcement came after the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) unveiled its first ever blueprint for ending three decades of ethnic bloodshed that has claimed more than 60,000 lives.

“There is no proper Muslim representation in the LTTE’s proposals, but we are not bothered by that,” an SLMC spokesman here said. “We will be making our proposals within two months.”

The support of Muslims is seen as crucial for the success of any peace deal with Tamils, the island’s largest minority. Muslims are the second largest minority, comprising 7.5 per cent of the population. The government has a slender two-seat majority in parliament and depends on the support of 12 Muslim legislators.—Reuters/AFP