COLOMBO, Nov 1: Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels on Saturday ended a boycott of peace talks after handing over historic proposals to end three decades of ethnic bloodshed.

The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) called for an “interim self-governing authority” (ISGA) in their first ever blueprint for peace in a country where more than 60,000 people have been killed in separatist violence.

The document, handed over to Colombo through Norwegian peace brokers on Friday and publicly unveiled on Saturday, envisages the ISGA raise taxes, maintains law and order, controls trade and negotiates foreign loans and funding in a federal set-up.

Releasing the eight-page document in the rebel-held town of Kilinochchi, 330 kilometres north of here, the LTTE’s political wing leader S. P. Thamilselvan said the Tigers were ending their six-month peace talks boycott.

“We look forward to continuing our dialogue with the government and to reaching rapid agreement on the creation of an ISGA so as to effectively bring normalcy and economic development to the Tamil People in the Northeast,” Mr Thamilselvan was quoted as saying on the rebels’ peace secretariat website.

The Tigers suspended their participation in talks in April after accusing the government of failing to deliver on promises made at six rounds of negotiations held since September last year.

The final draft of the plan proposes the ISGA functions until a permanent peace deal is reached with the government or for a maximum period of five years.

Thereafter, the Tigers propose elections under an independent election commission to be appointed by the ISGA.

There was no mention of the role of LTTE’s combat units as well as how their own “police” and “courts” would function under an ISGA arrangement that envisages institutions to administer justice.

A separate court is proposed to rule on disputes over the setting up of the interim authority.

The plan also calls for: ISGA control of natural resources and government deals in the region; elimination of religious preferences; and, a Tiger majority of ISGA seats, which should be appointed by the LTTE, Colombo and minority Muslims.

“The ISGA shall have plenary power for the governance of the Northeast, including powers in relation to resettlement, rehabilitation, reconstruction, and development, including improvement and upgrading of existing services and facilities, raising revenue, including imposition of taxes, revenue, levies and duties, law and order and over land,” the plan also says.

All these powers are either already with provincial administrations or offered under various peace packages in the past, officials here noted.

“While the disparities between the position of the parties are evident, the government is convinced that the way forward lies through direct discussions of the issues arising from both sets of proposals,” the government’s chief negotiator, G. L. Peiris said here on Saturday.

The LTTE proposal came in response to a power-sharing plan offered by the government on July 17 and was hammered out with their legal and constitutional experts during extensive meetings in France and Ireland.

The Tigers have never before put down in writing their plan for an administrative structure to politically end the bloodshed and diplomats see the latest development as the most significant step so far in the peace process.

The Tigers recognize Norway’s peace-brokering role in their preamble and also names the chairman of the international court of justice in the Hague as the final authority to appoint an arbitrator in any dispute with Colombo. —AFP