"All three critical aspects - security, economic and political have been addressed. That is why we say we have very good reason to be satisfied with the outcome of the second session.''

But, when asked four days ago by PA MP Ronnie de Mel why Parliament had not been informed about what happened at the talks, the same Professor Peiris dismissed the query by saying, "Parliament will be informed if there is something crystallising - not the mere appointment of a committee.''

What is a wonderful breakthrough in Thailand becomes 'a mere appointment of a committee' - not worth having to inform the Legislature the voice of the sovereign people, that Prof. Peiris' Prime Minister claimed on Friday was "supreme".

Prof. Peiris also does a jet-dash to Australia, while his fellow traveller in the peace process Mr. Milinda Moragoda goes to the US, and Sweden, and is scheduled to disembark in Norway and Japan thereafter, following Tyronne Fernando's trip to Japan to secure an aid package for the North and the East to be spent via the LTTE. The Premier is scheduled to go to Oslo next weekend, all pleading for urgent funds to reconstruct the war-ravaged North. But yet, Prof. G. L. Peiris is saying that nothing has crystallised for Parliament to be informed, even after the conclusion of Round 2 of the talks in October.

He goes on to tell Parliament "not to believe newspaper reports" on the peace talks. But then who is churning out pages after pages of press conference briefs, upon cabinet press briefings, upon press releases, upon inspired leaks? It is Prof. Peiris. And then he tells Parliament don't believe newspaper reports.

Can someone in the Government please tell this country what is going on? Else, the much repeated assurance to the sovereign people of Sri Lanka that they will be kept informed every step of the way in the talks, will be empty pledges. The opposition People's Alliance has a point in claiming at this stage of the proceedings that they have been kept out of the loop.

The PA is clearly unhappy with the Norwegians and their role - even if they were the ones who brought the Norwegians into the picture in the first place - and the Norwegians have lost their credibility with the opposition it seems. If there is any indication of that, it is the fact that the PA feels compelled to say that the Norwegians are only interested in the short term success story of Sri Lanka and not the long term gain, much the same way as it was in their previous adventure in conflict resolution in Palestine back in 1993.
The Government is clearly operating on the strategic premise that (a) we must develop the North and the East (b) this will effectively stop the fighting (c) this will wean the people of the North and the East away from the desire to fight again.

In the meantime, however, the Government is totally oblivious to the gross violations of the law of the land, the utter contempt that is shown towards the MoU and the slow but sure and determined creation of all the elements that go with a parallel administration in the island's north and east. Even if it is not a separate state - in the least, a modus vivendi or a way of life, that is as good as self-rule is unfolding before our eyes.

But the Government's total ineffectuality in stopping the establishment of police stations (the Norwegians call them police offices) the opening of law courts (the Norwegians probably call them law offices) has effectively institutionalised self-rule, a device which the LTTE will use for greater leverage in obtaining still more concessions in time to come.

The Government is adamant in keeping the peace process going, almost at any cost, but can they not at least re-evaluate their strategy, lest the people think that all these peace moves are already choreographed in this stage-managed pantomime called negotiations.

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