Ramaphosa in town today to revive reconciliation

Monday, 7 July 2014 01:14 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

S African Envoy to meet President over dinner tonight
Meetings scheduled with GL, TNA delegation, Wigneswaran in Jaffna
Govt. remains tight-lipped on delegation schedule, talks agenda

By Dharisha Bastians Reviving hopes for a negotiated political settlement to Sri Lanka’s long-standing ethnic conflict, South Africa’s Special Envoy to Sri Lanka Cyril Ramaphosa will arrive in Colombo today for high level talks, but the Government has remained tight-lipped about his schedule and the discussion agenda.

South African President Jacob Zuma’s special appointee to attempt brokering peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka, Ramaphosa and his four member delegation arrive in Colombo this afternoon for a two-day visit in the island. The visit comes as UPFA coalition allies, the Jathika Hela Urumaya and the National Freedom Front led by Wimal Weerawansa, strongly opposed mediation by Pretoria for a Sri Lankan reconciliation process that could include the establishment of a South African style Truth and Reconciliation Commission to address accountability concerns. Ramaphosa, who is also Deputy President of South Africa, will hold discussions with External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris this afternoon. President Mahinda Rajapaksa will host the South African Special Envoy for dinner tonight, where the two are expected to hold discussions. The Government has refused to reveal details of the Ramaphosa delegation’s schedule, and last week Cabinet Spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told journalists that there was “no agenda” set for the talks between the Government and the South African delegation. Presidential Spokesman Mohan Samaranayake told the Daily FT “the schedule so far” was that President Rajapaksa would host the delegation to dinner on Monday night. Samaranayake declined to comment on whether discussions with the President would take place at the dinner. The South African Envoy is scheduled to meet a Tamil National Alliance delegation over breakfast tomorrow, before flying to Jaffna for discussions with Northern Province Chief Minister Justice C.V. Wigneswaran, the Daily FT learns. The Ramaphosa delegation will return to Colombo the same evening and return to South Africa on Tuesday (8) night. Ramaphosa’s delegation will include Parliamentary Counsellor to the President in the National Assembly, Ebrahim Esmail Ebrahim, Deputy Minister for Performance monitoring, evaluation and administration, Obeid Bopiela and Defence Minister – Deputy Minister for Performance Monitoring, Evaluation and Administration, Apartheid regime defence minister and former Minister in Nelson Mandela’s national unity Government, Roelf Meyer and Consultant and Director at In Transformation Initiative Ivor Jenkins. The South African role that has been under discussion for nearly a year is aimed at resuming discussions between the Government and the TNA about evolving a political solution. The moves are widely seen as an alternative to the multi-lateral process to achieve reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka, through a UN inquiry mandated by the UN Human Rights Council. Speaking about his role in the Sri Lankan reconciliation and peace building process for the first time last month, Ramaphosa said South Africa’s post-Apartheid success in building a new nation that embraced democracy and human rights had endeared the country to others around the world, including Sri Lanka. “We are truly honoured to be chosen among many countries to go and make this type of contribution to the people of Sri Lanka,” the South African peace envoy said, in a speech in South African in June. “Our country used to be the pariah of the world, and today we are the darling of the world… Some of those that have come to respect us greatly are countries like Sri Lanka,” he said.

Govt. wasting Ramaphosa’s valuable time: UNP

The Sri Lankan Government is intent on wasting the time of South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, when it has no political will to offer devolution to the island’s Tamil minority, UNP Legislator Lakshman Kiriella charged yesterday. Dismissing the Government’s apparent interest in the South African overtures as just another ‘time buying’ exercise, Kiriella told the Daily FT that the Government already had agreements in place with its Sinhala hardline allies that no further devolution would be granted. “The opposition to the South African mediation was one of the clauses of Minister Wimal Weerawansa’s 12-point plan that was given to the President. They want the 13th Amendment scrapped – how can the Government even start talking about devolution?” Kiriella queried. The UNP MP said that the South African mediation moves would be relegated to the dustbin of history in due course. “Just like the LLRC, the APRC and all the other commissions and committees, this will also be rubbished eventually,” he charged. Kiriella said that if President Rajapaksa went through with the South African proposal for reconciliation, he would be faced with the real threat of his ruling alliance collapsing. “This is just an exercise in wasting Ramaphosa’s valuable time,” he asserted. (DB)

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