KELUM BANDARA  Courtesy The Daily Mirror

• ”Mr. Prabhakaran had a huge problem in accepting a compromise. The peace process can only be a compromise. He wanted everything in his own way. You cannot get that in the peace process.”
• ”Prabhakaran was fundamentally a military man whereas Balasingham was fundamentally a political man. They clashed.”

Erik Solheim, a Norwegian diplomat and former Cabinet minister best known in Sri Lanka for his role as the chief international facilitator of the Sri Lankan peace process during the 2002–2006 ceasefire talks, shared his views in an interview with Daily Mirror about the pitfalls of the process . Also, in his current role as an international commentator and adviser on climate change, geopolitics and sustainable development, he said Sri Lanka has enormous potential for green economic development. He also served as UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Environment. He now serves as the President- Europe Asia Centre.

QYou have been a visitor to Sri Lanka quite often, right from your days as a peace facilitator. What brought you here this time? 

Just to keep a friendship with many, many old friends, and of course to meet new friends. But I will also attend a number of meetings.

There will be a meeting in Sigiriya focused on green tourism, because Sri Lanka is a fantastic tourist destination, but we discussed how to make it even greener. I will make a speech at a Think- Tank event about renewable energy in the Indian Ocean. I will also attend the launch of the book about the peace process by my old friend Prof. G.L. Peiris.

QThe book by Prof. Peiris is already out. Did you read it?

I have read it, absolutely. 

QWhat is your impression about the book and the peace process? 

The book is a very good overview of all the difficulties in the peace process.

I think it points to the major difficulties, like the lack of cooperation between the main political actors in the South- between the SLFP and the UNP at that time. It points to all the difficulties at the sea. There were weapon smugglings, that created difficulties with the Navy.

It points to the difficulty of coordinating the peace process with an economic policy, which created short-term pain for many people. Then people tended to see that as a result of the peace process. I wish he could also be a little bit more personal about his own experiences because it’s more like academic work rather than the work of an actor in the peace process.

QHow do you see the genuineness of the LTTE? 

That’s, of course, a very good question, where there is not one answer. The LTTE started the peace process at the peak of their power.

It was right after they attacked the Bandaranaike international airport and crippled the Sri Lankan economy. It was right after they had been close to overtaking the entire Jaffna Peninsula, right after they had taken over the Elephant -Pass . So, it came at a time of the maximum military, political strength of the LTTE.

They started the peace process, when they were strong, not when they were weak. I tend to believe it was genuine. However, I think also Mr. Prabhakaran had a huge problem in accepting a compromise. The peace process can only be a compromise. He wanted everything in his own way. You cannot get that in the peace process.

Also, he didn’t understand that he can come so far by military means. He tended to see everything as a military problem. If you didn’t like someone, better kill them, rather than look for a compromise and a political solution. He over-focused on military means and not so much on politics.

QAre you aware of reasons for the break-away of Vinayagamurthy Muralitharan alias Karuna from the LTTE? Some people say it was a direct result of the peace process. Others say Karuna went outside the country to attend the peace talks ,saw the world and got carried away. What is the reason? 

I’m very much aware of the last reason because Karuna, as far as I know, hardly ever been out of the north and the east of Sri Lanka.

I think when he came to Bangkok and saw how big, how modern life was in Bangkok, and how fast development is in Thailand, he was carried away. He was understanding that Sri Lanka also needed to change.

But, of course, only Karuna himself can answer the question.

QWhen you selected world capitals for hosting peace talks, was there a particular reason? 

We selected Thailand for the very simple reason that it was a place which was agreeable to both the government and the LTTE. It was a bit surprising, because Thailand is a fundamentally Buddhist country. I thought the LTTE would have difficulties, but they accepted Thailand.

One reason may also be that when it comes to weather, nature, food and everything, Thailand is quite familiar to Sri Lanka. Europe is much colder. I still recall when we had some meetings in Norway where some of the Sri Lankan delegates were absolutely scared of the ice, the slippery ice.

They were as scared of the ice as I would have been scared of, say, a tiger. The most of the talks were in Thailand.

We also had talks in Japan, Germany and Norway, but these were mainly for political reasons to carry the message of the peace process to different places. Thailand was the main venue, and I think it was mainly about weather and food. People felt comfortable there. 

QWere you aware that there was a conflict between LTTE leader Velupillay Prabhakaran and its chief negotiator Anton Balasingham ? 

I don’t think Balasingham would ever split from the LTTE, but very clearly there were huge disagreements. For example, Balasingham went public and apologised for the killing of Rajiv Gandhi to Indian media. He got a strong negative reaction from Prabhakaran.

Balasingham accepted that the final result of the peace process should be Federalism. Prabhakaran was not comfortable with that. There were clearly disagreements, but they were like an old couple who had been together their whole life. 

• ”I think when he came to Bangkok and saw how big, how modern life was in Bangkok, and how fast development is in Thailand, he was carried away. He was understanding that Sri Lanka also needed to change.”
• Lack of political unity in south , Prabhakaran’s military mindset hindered peace process
• Anton Balasingham, Prabhakaran had clear disagreements

When they disagreed, they didn’t speak to each other for quite some time. They just closed the phone and didn’t speak. Balasingham also understood that with the politics of the LTTE at the time, they were very likely to lose. He told me that the LTTE will lose the East, and even the North if it continues on this path. Prabhakaran was fundamentally a military man whereas Balasingham was fundamentally a political man. They clashed. 

QBecause of this adamant attitude of Prabhakaran, was there any possibility for a durable solution? 

I think, throughout the peace process, the two main obstacles were the lack of unity in the south and the character, as you say, of Prabhakaran. His lack of flexibility and his priority of military rather than political solutions. I still believe there was an opportunity for a peaceful end. There were two main opportunities which were wasted. First, when the peace process started in 2002, there was an enormous support. Everyone supported the peace process.

It was like 90 percent support from all communities in Sri Lanka. For two years, there were no killings. That kind of momentum was lost.

The other was the tsunami, which was in December, 2004. There was a kind of national feeling after the tsunami.

The army helped LTTE. The LTTE helped the Sinhalese. There was very much a national coming together after the tsunami. But that momentum was also lost due slowness and bureaucracy.

QHow do you see the situation of minority communities today in Sri Lanka?

I think Sri Lanka still has a long way to go to create rights for minorities like Tamils and Muslims. However, of course, economic development also helps.

If there can be more economic development in Jaffna, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, that will help. People also want economic and social uplifting. Jaffna once was the most educated place in Sri Lanka.

With the enormous flow of Tamils out of Sri Lanka, it’s today much less developed than many other cities in Sri Lanka.

QHad the peace process continued at a particular time, do you believe that LTTE would have been diluted with many factions breaking away like the Karuna faction?

If the peace process had been successful, the LTTE would have necessarily had to make a transformation from a fundamental military group to a political party or a group.

That would also have been a difficult and painful process. But, of course, after peace, there could not be a huge separate army in Sri Lanka, at least not for a long time.

QI would like to move to the next subject- climate change. You remained the international climate change advisor to former President Ranil Wickremesinghe. There were talks about the setting up of an international climate change university. How relevant is such a university for Sri Lanka?

I’m in doubt that there should be a separate climate university. I think what is more needed is to strengthen a climate department or climate work in the already existing universities like Colombo or Peradeniya Universities. 

To set up a separate university, you need to focus on buildings, recruiting staff and a lot of other activities.

It is better to make climate an important integrated part of an already existing university. 

QHow far had the then government progressed as far as such a university was concerned?

It was mainly a good idea. It didn’t really materialise. It was just an idea. 

What is most important is intellectual output, the ideas from universities, ideas as to how Sri Lanka can prepare better for future cyclones and natural catastrophes. That’s the most important, not to spend the time on constructing buildings, recruiting staff which will necessarily come from other universities, etc.

That’s why I recommend it strongly. Let this be a unit, a department, a faculty in one already existing university! Then, you don’t need to construct the buildings. You don’t need to recruit new staff. 

QHow do you see the potential of Sri Lanka’s green economic potential?

It has a huge potential for green economics in many, many different ways. Being a tropical nation, it has enormous potential for solar and wind energy- both onshore and offshore wind energy.

Sri Lanka is blessed with a lot of sun. Solar energy is by far now the fastest sort of energy in the world. For the first time last year, the world produced more solar and wind energy than coal.

For the first time last year, both in India and China, the use of coal went down. It was the first time in the history of both nations that they reduced coal. The reason is the massive investments in solar energy.

That is the number one opportunity for Sri Lanka. The second opportunity is, of course, tourism. That’s the number one source of foreign currency in Sri Lanka today.

Potentials are enormous because Sri Lanka has so much to offer- beaches and national parks with elephants, fantastic cultural sites like the Temple of Tooth (16:44) or the Bodhi Tree in Anuradhapura , Sigiriya and Dambulla. It’s a very, very beautiful place.

It has all these in a very, very small area. There is more to offer in India, but India is virtually a continent. China is virtually a continent.

With three, four hours’ drive, you can go to all these places in Sri Lanka. That’s absolutely unique. But tourism, more and more, will demand green solutions; that the beaches are free of plastic; that transportation is happening with electric cars and electric buses; and that hotels are providing the services in an eco-friendly way.

All this will be demanded. Sri Lanka should develop the concept of eco-tourism. 

QWhat is your observation of the current status in Sri Lanka? 

There have been a lot of steps in Sri Lanka, but there’s also a lot more to be done.

In China now, basically all transportation is electric. If you go to a tourist place there, all buses, all cars, all scooters, and even a lot of lorries will be electric. That creates a very calm, no noise, no pollution atmosphere.

Sri Lanka should try to catch up with that. By the way, in Nepal, which is much poorer than Sri Lanka, 80 percent of all new cars are now electric. 

QBut for us to realise these green economic goals, our investment climate should also be improved. What is your assessment about Sri Lanka’s investment climate? 

Many of these investments are not costly. Investing in solar energy is not a cost. Solar is the cheapest energy anywhere in the world. So, it’s like changing the mindset to develop solar energy. 

QThe previous government sought investments from India’s Adani company. (19:11) And they finalised the agreement and the project was about to take off the ground. But then suddenly there was a change of government. The new government scrapped the project. How will lack of policy consistency affect the country in this regard?

I don’t want to go into disputed issues in domestic politics in Sri Lanka. But clearly if you wish to develop renewable energies, foreign investment will make it much easier.

The two main sources of foreign investment in Sri Lanka will be India and China. There is also opportunity for investment from Japan, Europe, and also from the United States. But at the end of the day, if you look at the map, India is very, very close.

China is now the biggest trade partner with every single nation in Asia. Absolutely everywhere China is the number one trade partner. China is the indispensable nation for green solution.

Adani in my view is a fantastic Indian company. If you look at what they are now doing in Gujarat, they are developing the largest solar and wind plant everywhere in the world. Sri Lanka should absolutely look into how we can maximise investment from both India and China.

QBut it is a very difficult task because of competing geopolitical interests?

But Sri Lanka is for Sri Lankans. Sri Lanka is not there for India or for China.

The only meaning for both economic and foreign policy for Sri Lanka is Sri Lanka first. If Sri Lanka can benefit from Chinese investment, Sri Lanka should say yes.

If it can benefit from Indian investment, also yes. It can be balanced with more investment from the West. It’s just that the United States are now so inward looking.

Sri Lanka is very, very far from the United States. 

-Are you going to meet some government leaders this time during your visit? I hope so, but the programme is not exactly finalised yet.

But for sure, I’m very eager to meet the present government. 

I want to meet with everyone.

-You look passionate in working for Sri Lanka or working with Sri Lankans. What is the reason ? Because I’ve spent so much time here. I have so many friends here. I consider Sri Lanka second home. It’s the most beautiful place in the world. It’s one of the most beautiful places in the world. It has so many nice, friendly, hard-working people. If I can be of any help to them, I’m very happy to do that.

QWhat do you like most in Sri Lanka-beaches, mountains, wildlife, or food? 

The combination of all of these. That’s what makes Sri Lanka unique, again. You can be at the beaches in Matara or Galle. In a couple of hours’ time, you are in the most beautiful national parks. In another a couple of more hours, you are at the most beautiful cultural sites, or the tea plantations of central Sri Lanka, or the Temple of Tooth and Kandy. Everything is such a small place. You can enjoy all aspects of life with a good beer at the beach.

QWhen Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe was arrested and put behind bars, you defended him in a message on X . What prompted you to do it? 

Quite simply, it was because even if all the accusations that were made against Ranil were true, he had done nothing illegal by the standards of any other country. The main allegation was that he had undertaken a private visit to the University of Wolverhampton, which incurred costs due to security arrangements.

When Mr. Trump goes golfing, he receives full security provided by the American state. When Mr. Modi attends a yoga session, the Indian state provides full security. When you are the head of state, security accompanies you in whatever you do.

You cannot protect against terrorism only when you are at work. Heads of state must also be protected against criminals and terrorists during private or non-official activities. Therefore, even if all these accusations were true, what he did would not be considered illegal in Norway, the United States, or India.