The outcome of the first round of peace talks in Thailand between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was better than anticipated. While sceptics had doubted if the parties would agree to subsequent rounds of talks, on 18 September the two sides announced three more meetings to be held in Thailand between this October and January 2003. More remarkable still was the rapid progress made at the first round of peace talks, which surprised even hopeful supporters of the Norwegian-facilitated peace process. The government-LTTE discussions indicated a meeting of minds that went beyond simply agreeing to dates and an agenda for future talks.
The positive interaction between the government's chief negotiator, professor GL Peiris, and his LTTE counterpart, Dr Anton Balasingham, at the closing media conference could not have been a better example of joint problem solving. They answered the local and international media in harmony and articulated the view that their talks had been meaningful and successful. There was no indication of either Peiris or Balasingham looking for advantage or putting the other on the spot. On the contrary, Balasingham had words of great appreciation for the government for sending men of calibre and understanding with whom it was possible to negotiate. He spoke of the congenial environment at the talks, a sentiment reciprocated by Peiris.
The best form of negotiation is one in which two parties approach issues in the spirit of problem solving. The success of these initial talks could not however have been due simply to the good rapport between the two sets of negotiators. Much groundwork was laid in the informal talks that are known to have been taking place in Wanni, Colombo and London over the past nine months of ceasefire. Among matters on which agreement was reached was the setting up of a joint committee to deal with the problem of high security zones and the resettlement of displaced people. Likewise, negotiators forged a creative agreement under which official government funds and international aid could be made accessible to the LTTE.
However, the potentially contentious issue of an interim administration for the northern and eastern provinces claimed by the LTTE as a Tamil homeland – a position opposed by majority Sinhala opinion – was left untouched at the first meeting. The talks did, however, reveal two important issues on which the LTTE showed its willingness to compromise. It did not push for the immediate establishment of an interim administration, instead expressing satisfaction with the establishment of a 'joint task force' in which it will be a partner with the government in rehabilitating the north and east. This important agreement in all likelihood will be a halfway house for the time being, until sceptical Sri Lankans see that such a partnership with the LTTE does not harm lives or the country.