While saying that the PA and the opposition will not obstruct the peace process Nimal Siripala de Silva (PA Badulla district) maintained that the government should immediately sit down for talks with the LTTE on substantial issues.

"We only want to direct the peace process into the correct path. The LTTE is deliberately violating the cease-fire agreement and the government is turning a blind eye".

He noted that the Ministry of Defence is trying to hide the attrocities of the LTTE in the press statements. "The government is trying to hide the attrocities of the LTTE from the international community through their statements. What you should do ,is to bring these violations to the attention of the international community.

He charged that there is no administration in the north-east at the moment and the government is planning to give the interim adminsitration of the north-east.

Referring to a letter sent by prominent international personalities including Bishop Desmond Tutu to the prime minister, he said that they had stated that the legitimacy of the peace process does not only lie in the cease-fire agreement.

He asked the government to state clearly whether the LTTE through Norway had fixed the date to hold peace talks. "Talk substantive issues when you sit down at talk", he said.

Govt. keen to discuss substantive issues - GL

Responding to opposition charges G. L. Peiris (Minister of Constitutional Affairs) declared that the government was keen to begin discussions on substantive issues soon, and that the cease-fire agreement was one structured to provide for confidence building measures to prepare the ground for talks.

He added that talks in Thailand were scheduled to take place before the end of June, and that there was no indication from the LTTE that it would not come for talks.

Asserting that it was wrong to say that all problems had begun with the MoU, giving examples he said that the 2001 census had established that large areas of the east were effectively under the control of the LTTE.

He conceded that even after the MoU there were considerable constraints. He added however that there was the enforcement of the law of the land as evidenced by the naval attack and the formal arrest of LTTE cadres carrying arms.

He added that with the MoU a formal regime had come into existence where both the LTTE and government could register their complaints. He conceded that there was no enforceability posing the question whether one would rather have "this or nothing". The alternative is violence, mayhem, carnage, butchery. What will follow will be a reign of terror", he said.

He observed that with the LTTE sending lawyers to appear for their cadres before the courts of the republic, there was the recognition and the submission of the LTTE to the rule of law.

"The MoU has been able to set ground rules and parameters for the conduct of the two parties", he said.

On extortion and abduction, pointing out that this had existed previous to the MoU, he said that the only redress was the moral pressure brought to bear by the international community. He recalled the intervention of both the US ambassador and a deputy secretary of state as evidence of the "enormous reservoir of goodwill" towards the process and Sri Lanka.

Observing the MoU to be the origin of an evolving structured process, he said that the role of the monitor was not to provide a police junction but to bring moral pressure on parties to heed the agreement. "It is unfair to blame the monitors", he said. He said that the prime minister’s position too was one which called for the upholding of the law of the land.

Assuaging concerns on the final outcome of talks in Thailand he said that the solution would be presented to both the parliament and people. "There is no need to whip up hysteria. The people will be consulted once we end discussions in Thailand", he said.

Opposition should not scuttle peace process - Sampanthan

R. Sampathan (TNA Batticaloa) said that the opposition political parties should not engage in the criminal activity of scuttling the peace process. "Your future generations will curse you if you do that now".He noted that both the SLFP and the UNP that ruled the country during the last 50 years were responsible for not solving the "Tamil question".

Speaking about the incident in the seas off Vakarai he said that the LTTE was not involved. "There is not an iota of evidence that the LTTE was involved. It is evident that there is some unseen person who wants to blame the LTTE for engaging in clandestine activities".

He called on the opposition to jointly co-operate at this moment to find a just and durable solution to the Tamil question.

Asserting that peace was not merely hope for such, Wimal Weerawansa (JVP - Colombo district) said that the cessation of hostilities was proving to be a threat to security on the ground with Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims living with the threat of impending war and violence.

He traced the emergence of the LTTE and blamed the UNP for driving the Tamil people into the arms of the LTTE through the riots it staged in 1983. "It was the UNP by alienating the Indians that created the environment for a strengthening of the LTTE", he said.

Analysing the current scenario he said that it had necessarily to be accepted that the government and LTTE have opposing positions and two different goals. In this context he said that the MoU had strengthened the hand of the LTTE creating the space for its recognition as a legitimate organisation. He observed that the LTTE had been allowed to engage in political work in the north and east even while retaining all its arms and its Eelamist policies. This he contrasted with the plight of parties considered opponents of the LTTE, who were disarmed to a great degree. "They have also been denied the right to engage in politics", he said.

He observed that the MoU was also providing the space for the handover of civil administration to the LTTE. "The LTTE has sacrificed nothing. Neither have they changed", he said.

He rejected the call for a national government, asserting that it was no more than a move to set up an autocratic framework. He observed that even the government was covering up on the issue of arms smuggling, giving the example of the accosting of three LTTE boats carrying LTTE leaders in which the Navy had found more than 4000 war implements, but which the government had failed to disclose.

He observed that the morale of the army was sapped even while the LTTE morale was gathering strength. "The army is being asked to withdraw from its positions and camps even as the LTTE is moving into government-controlled areas. The army is being cornered", he said.

He added that there was a very real possibility of war. "You have freed the LTTE, not the Tamil people", he said.

If talks fail PM will wage war with super power assistance - SB

S. B. Dissanayake (Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Development) said that if the peace process fails this time around the prime minister will be going to war with the blessings of the super powers.

He said that countries like America, Britain and India are disturbed when there is some problem with the ceasefire agreement.

He noted that the PA’s stand against the interim administration is absurd since the PA proposed such an interim administration when they initiated peace talks. "I have always stood for an interim administration in the process of finding a final solution", he said.

Remembering the incidents in 1987 he said that the anti-Indian attitude created specially by the JVP in the country created chaos in the country.

He argued that the SLFP and the PA does not have a clear idea or a vision on what the solution to the problem should be and how it should be achieved. "On one side they want the government to go to talks, but on the other hand they talk against the ceasefire. This is the dilemma the PA and the SLFP is in today".

He said that a group engaged in a military struggle for a long time would not lay down their arms immediately. "It takes a long time for such an organisation to come to the democratic mainstream".

He added that Sri Lanka is not the only country where a conflict is taking place. He said that there have been similar peace initiatives in countries like Cambodia, Philippines and Nagaland. "There were failures but they have been able carry out the process for a long time".

LTTE involvement needed for long lasting peace - Siddharthan

Contemplating whether the current scenario was a case of history repeating itself D. Siddharthan (DPLF - Wanni District) said "We wonder even as the Dudley-Chelva, Banda-Chelva and Indo-Lanka accords were broken with protest from the opposition, whether this too would meet with the same fate".

He said that the importance of the monitoring committee lay in enabling the two parties to bring up their issues.

Urging the opposition not to derail efforts, he said that the LTTE’s role in the solutions could not be resisted. "The LTTE involvement is necessary. Otherwise we will not achieve long lasting peace", he said.

He said that it was important to grasp this opportunity for peace and pledged support.

He reiterated the need for LTTE involvement adding that the LTTE must also be viewed from a political perspective and not from a military view. "In either a military or political sense, there is no doubt that the LTTE is a dominant force", he said.

He said that the president too had a great desire for peace but had been distanced from her goal gradually. "We ask the opposition to not hinder the process", he said.

R. A. D. Sirisena (Minister of Samurdhi) said that there is no demarcated difference between the government and the opposition on peace talks since both parties want talks. "Today the opposition is debating on hypothetical conclusions drawn by themselves on what the outcome of the talks will be".

He said the government has embarked on a confidence building process. "The prime minister is slowly removing the war mentality from the people. There is confidence in the people from both sides".

Both sides agree on talks - Hakeem

Rauff Hakeem (Minister of Ports, Shipping and Eastern Development) said that there is common ground in the arguments raised by both sides of the house. "On having substantive talks both sides agree".

He said that in 1987 there wouldn’t have been a handful of people in the streets of Colombo who support the Indo-Lanka accord. "But today the atmosphere is different. The people have confidence on finding a solution. There is a need for peace among people from all over the country".

Striking a similarity between the LTTE and the JVP he said that both these organisations stand for dismissing phrality and enforcing the rule of the majority.

"When the rhetoric is taken among the JVP and the LTTE are both the same. They have to change their attitude".

He said that even in 1987 the LTTE did not hand over the weapons and only a token handing over of weapons was made to the IPKF.

He said that the cease-fire agreement has necessary security measures in place as the Navy can intercept boats that are engaged in weapon transportation.

He said that Prabhakaran had said that other political parties can engage in political activities in the north-east.

Govt. trying to whitewash LTTE - Dinesh

Dinesh Gunawardene (PA Colombo) charged that LTTE leader Prabhakaran in his press conference indicated that they have not given up the demand for a seperate state, the Tamil homeland concept and the right for self determination. "It is sad to see how the government is trying to whitewash the LTTE".

He said that this is not the first time there was an agreement with the LTTE "the agreement between President Chandrika Kumaratunga and the LTTE was broken by the LTTE after blowing up a naval craft in Trincomalee".

In the incident off Vakarai he said that the LTTE in the guise of fisherboats had brought in arms and the monitors had failed to record it as a violation of the cease-fire. "Why are they bringing in weapons. Is it to build toys?"

Quoting a "Sunday Leader" article by D. B. S. Jeyraj he said that the members of the TNA are playing a subservient role to the LTTE. He said that the TNA is voicing what the LTTE had told them.

Cease-fire, a blue print for de-facto Eelam - Mangala

Commenting on the MoU Mangala Samaraweera (PA - Matar district) said that the security situation was fast deteriorating. "The cease-fire is a blue print for the de-facto state of Eelam", he said.

He added that if the government went ahead and formed the interim council without a final solution it would be akin to the betrayal by Don Juan Dharmapala in 1597. "There are modern day Don Juan Dharmapalas but we will not let them have their way", he asserted.

He posed a number of questions to the government, among them its position on the nature of the state. "We still stand by our 1997 draft constitution. We believe in devolution without dividing the country", he said. The LTTE he said had not get abandoned Eelam and he asked the government to state its position.

On the deproscription he said that the SLFP was against such a move before the commencement of talks. When there is discussion on substantive issues, there should be a temporary de-ban and only a permanent de-ban once there is a final solution.

He also said that his party was opposed to an interim council which was an end in itself. It must be a stop gap solution until the final solution is implemented. It must also be pluralist in structure and have all political parties represented in it. The right of Muslims and Sinhalese must be ensured", he said.

He observed that the party was also opposed to the recognition of the traditional homelands and the Tamil right to self-determination on the ground that it would lead to the division of the country. But that does not mean that Tamil rights must not be given. They must certainly be given, their rights, he said.

He said that the party was in agreement on one point with the LTTE that the country must build better relations with India.

"Velupillai Prabhakaran said it out of fear and guilt. But we have always had good relations with India: the PA, the SLFP and the Bandaranaike too have always had good relations. It was the UNP governments of 1977 and 1989 that turned India into a hostile neighbour", he said.

People concerned about reality - Rajitha

Speaking of the vicious cycle of race politics that had beset the country Rajitha Senaratne (Minister of Lands) said that the factions were evident even today. He recalled the role that many opposition parties had played in scuttling peace efforts.

He spoke of the relief that the MoU had brought to the people, giving the example of officers serving at checkpoints in the war zone who said they were feeling safe.

"The people don’t speak of this in algebraic terms where ‘a’ plus ‘b’ equals ‘c’, but in numerical terms that one plus one is two. They are concerned about the ground reality", he said quoting Mao Tse Tung that the "people are always right".

Critisizing the JVP, he said even as it was given the space to enter the democratic process, the LTTE too should be given such. "We don’t expect Prabhakaran who has been fighting for 20 years to bow to the prime minister. This is not realistic," he said.

Quoting from CNN’s interview with the president he gave examples of what he termed contradictory positions by the president. "She has said that she is not opposed to deproscription if the LTTE is willing to engage in positive talks. She tells the international community one thing and the local populace another", he said.

On the peace process he observed that history was not linear, but moved spirally "Prof. Peiris will go for talks." They will breakdown. They will be rejuvenated. This process will continue", he said.

Suspicion inevitable - Marapane

Tilak Marapane (Minister of Defence) said that there is consensus on both parties regarding the peace talks and the cease-fire and the questions raised by the opposition on matters that will come up at substantial talks.

He observed that the MoU is to ensure a suitable climate to proceed with the peace process and bring them to talks. He said that a final solution to the problems can be arrived at during the substantial talks.

"Their is anxiety created in the minds of the public that the LTTE might take the cease-fire to their advantage and the LTTE will launch a major attack when the army is asleep". He said that this is a justifiable doubt and it exists among the government members as well.

He was of the view that there is an element of risk associated with the peace processes and any agreement with the LTTE. He said that in the same manner the LTTE too has doubts about the intentions of the government regarding the peace process. "This mutual suspicion is inevitable but we have to proceed despite the suspicions. We are not paranoid of an LTTE onslaught but we are mindful of the risks involved".

He also thanked the Norwegians for the role they are playing as facilitators and as cease-fire monitors.

He pointed out that the Navy has acted freely on the two occasions where incidents took place in the sea off Vakarai. He said that the Norwegian monitors had also intervened and had taken necessary action. "The Norwegian facilitators are quite capable of handling the problems that wise. The government is aware of the implications that could arise in the future".