Selected Texts from the 1994-5 Negotiations Process These pages reproduce excerpts from letters, exchanged between representatives of the Sri Lankan government the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). LTTE Headquarters Col. Anuruddha Ratwatte Dear Col. Ratwatte Thank you very much for your letter dated 29 December 1994. I am pleased to note that you are in agreement with our view concerning the procedure of the peace process ie that the negotiating process should be advanced in stages and that the early stages of the peace negotiations should address the immediate problems and hardships experienced by our people. We appreciate your government's commitment to ameliorate the conditions of existence of our people and to resolve the Tamil national conflict through peace negotiations. There has never been any misconception on our part that the fundamental objective of the peace process is to find a meaningful political solution that would satisfy the aspirations of the Tamil people. You are fully aware that the Tamil people in the North East are undergoing extreme hardships as the direct consequence of the war and the hardline militaristic ......... and pressures of which have not yet been relaxed to create the conditions or normalcy in the war affected areas. The elimination of these constraints, we believe, will not only alleviate the hardships experienced by our people but also will create a congenial environment to conduct peace negotiations in a free and unrestrained atmosphere which is crucial for the success of the peace talks. Such a process of reconciliation is also necessary to build trust and confidence among the Tamil community which has been embittered by non-fulfilment of pledges and promises for decades. It is for these reasons, we placed emphasis on the resolution of the immediate, day to day issues, which are of paramount importance in relation to the existential conditions experienced by our people. Our delegation will spell out in more detail and in depth such issues in the second round of talks and we hope that the government will take concrete action to redress these grievances. The government delegation is welcome to Jaffna on 2 January, as you have suggested, to conduct the second round of talks. May I wish you a happy, peaceful and prosperous new year. Thanking you, V. Pirabhakaran Leader, Text as published in the Sunday Leader, Colombo, 19 May 1996
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