Terrorism makes negotiations difficult - Rohitha Bogollagama

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama took office after his predecessor was assassinated by suspected Tamil Tigers in 2005. During his visit to Nepal this week, he made a pilgrimage to Lumbini and spoke to Nepali Times on Tuesday after meeting Prime Minister Girija Koirala.

.....What is the status of the Sri Lankan peace process, and how confident are you that things will be back on track?
We are a very resilient country despite all the internal and external shocks. The peace process is nothing new, we have been in this process since the 1982 Thimphu talks and the 1987 Indo-Lanka accord. The government has addressed the need for constitutional reforms and today we are looking for a process of counter-terrorism for lasting and sustained peace. As long as there is terrorism, negotiations are difficult.

But weren’t these concerns a part of the 2002 agreement? What went wrong?
That was a technical agreement, the focus was to put a stop to violence and convert that into a peace process. But when you try to do that, it has to be designed in such a way that it can bring parity to both sides, so one party is not put in an advantageous position. That is what went wrong. The LTTE was able to arm itself, openly oust the law enforcement bodies, and consolidate its position....

Read full interview here,
http://www.nepalitimes.com/issue/356/Interview/13720