Qualifying his statement, Dr. Balasingham said the LTTE was looking for an internal arrangement within a united Sri Lanka if ample devolution was granted to fulfill the aspirations of Tamil speaking people.

A Tamil homeland in the North and the East will no longer be a condition for talks between the government and the LTTE as it had been the case in the past.

The ice has been thawed in Bangkok, but there is much to be sorted out. It may take months, perhaps even a year or two for the two parties to strike a permanent deal. It may paint a bleak picture for over-optimistic peace lovers. But they also know they are already reaping some benefits of the peace process. People in the north, east and the south are enjoying a terror-free life for the first time in 20 years. Factors that contributed to the widening of the gap between the Sinhalese and the Tamils have been replaced by a new set of factors that try to unite the two communities.

The talks at Sattahip coincided with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's official visit to the New York city to address the United Nations General Assembly and the American business community. The latter event was organised by the Bureau of Investment of Sri Lanka.

Mr. Wickremesinghe called upon the international community to help salvage the country out of the economic mire it had fallen into. He told the world community that the people wanted to enjoy the dividends of peace and asked their help to strengthen the economy and make things move in Sri Lanka. That the people should enjoy the benefits and fruits of peace before a formal agreement is reached was the message the Prime Minister gave to the world during his visit to the United States. "I think 2003 would be very productive for Sri Lanka and it would be the year where there would be a steady flow of investments," was the message he gave the US investors.

The Prime Minister during his meeting with the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan urged him to set up a UN-led aid consortium to assist Sri Lanka financially to surmount the immediate socio-economic problems.

Mr. Annan said he was pleased with the progress the peace process has made and would set in motion the Prime Minister's proposal to set up a special aid consortium. Mr. Annan would visit Sri Lanka during the latter part of this year or early next year.

A UN team is already in Sri Lanka making a firsthand assessment of the damage caused by the war in the North-East. Eight big towns have been destroyed and more than 800,000 people displaced. The government has already prepared a comprehensive plan to seek world assistance.

The Prime Minister urged investor George Soros to help institute democratic norms in the North-East through his social initiative fund which is believed to have assisted other countries to establish democracy.

"We are exploring the possibilities and watching the ground situation. We cannot create people. If the people are willing to accept our initiative we can certainly help," Mr. Soros told a news conference after a productive meeting with the Prime Minister.

As a first step towards investing in Sri Lanka, Mr. Soros' managing partner Frank Sica will arrive in Sri Lanka on an invitation extended by the Prime Minister. To coincide with the Prime Minister's US visit, a government document titled "Strengthening the Economy" was released. The document which was prepared in consultation with the BOI to woo foreign investors, states:

"Building a lasting peace in Sri Lanka will depend crucially on improving economic performance. The Government is now implementing a far-reaching economic reform programme that aims at increasing the rate of economic growth. The foundation of the Prime Minister's strategy is based on improving the competitiveness of the Sri Lankan economy. This is being done by reducing the regulatory interference that reduces productivity in the markets for labour, investment and the production of goods and services throughout the Sri Lankan economy.

"The Government's economic reform programme will lead to a fundamental change in the relationship between the public and private sectors. The interventions and heavy regulatory burdens that have limited economic performance in the past are being rapidly removed. The already strong commercial legal framework is being further strengthened to provide the foundation essential for successful economic development."

The Business forum held in New York well expounded Sri Lanka's cause, especially when Mark Malloch Brown of the United Nations Development Programme and Norwegian Deputy Minister Vidar Helgesen talked about the opportunities available in Sri Lanka.

Mr. Helgesen arrived in New York soon after the Sattahip talks, Ministers G. L. Peiris and Milinda Moragoda were also in New York despite a hectic schedule.

Mr. Helgesen said the LTTE is prepared to work along with the Sri Lankan government in a joint effort to help the country emerge from its present plight. It was a promising start and there is a high level of confidence between the two parties, which would enable them to carry forward the peace process, Mr. Helgesen said.

The Norwegian Deputy Minister appears to be pinning hopes on the joint task force the government and the LTTE are to launch to assess the damage caused due to the war. He told this column that the joint task force would make an embryo for a healthy relationship on which a permanent foundation could be built to achieve peace.

Mr. Helgesen said he believed the environment was conducive for investments in Sri Lanka. Echoing similar sentiments, UNDP administrator Mark Malloch Brown also encouraged the prospective investor to go ahead and invest in Sri Lanka.

Much more optimistic and convincing was Minister Peiris. Outlining the peace process and investment opportunities in the country, Prof. Peiris said that there was no disagreement between the two parties with regard to development and that it was not necessary to wait until the full fledged peace returns to Sri Lanka.

The Prime Minister's visit to New York was a successful one with many positive results.

Investments are likely to commence as political stability returns. It is in this context that the 19th Amendment has been viewed as an important measure in the government strategy.

The Prime Minister is confident that the bill will be passed with the required two thirds majority.

In the meantime, the opposition is trying to find a way-out out of the crisis centred on the amendment.

The opposition PA is of the view that if it fails to find a solution to the crisis, it will run the risk of disintegrating the party.

Under the circumstances, it is likely that the two main parties will reach a compromise although a section of the PA has challenged the validity of the proposed bill in the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, Minister and SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem on Wednesday met leaders of the party's breakaway group - Ferial Ashraff, M.L.A.M. Hisbullah and Segu Izadeen - in the Parliamentary complex to iron out differences with regard to Muslim representation at the peace talks.

By then there were newspaper reports to the effect that Ms. Ashraff had questioned the SLMC leader as to why he failed to raise the unit of devolution for Muslims at the first round itself.
At Wednesday's meeting Minister Hakeem explained to the three MPs that it was premature to take up contentious issues at the first meeting itself as the other parties too avoided elaborating on their strategies on these subjects.

Mr. Hakeem assured that he would take up the core issues with the peace interlocutors at the most appropriate time and reminded them that the party had already consulted several local and international experts on potential structural arrangements for the North and the East catering to Muslim aspirations.

The group of experts included eminent lawyer and Sri Lanka High Commissioner to Britain Faiz Mustapha and Dr. Asbijorn Aide and Prof. Mark Weller who are internationally acclaimed advocates of minority rights.

It is learnt that several SLMC MPs have expressed a concern at the popular line of thought adopted by Ms. Asharff at this juncture which they fear would disturb the calculated strategies of the party leadership aimed at addressing the grievances of Muslims.

While some attribute this to her unfamiliarity with the proceedings at Sattahip talks, others are of the view that this line is taken by her to further her political prospects.

Given the propensity of the breakaway group of MPs to create rifts within SLMC party ranks, which they have proved they were quite capable of in the past, many wonder whether Mr. Hakeem's decision to woo these MPs would boomerang on him.

Mr. Hakeem has also succeeded in getting State patronage to hold the World Islamic Tamil Literary Conference in Sri Lanka which will be held from October 22 to 24 at the BMICH.

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