The December 26 tsunami disaster, while inflicting endless sufferings on affected south Asian nations with its mass killings, has presented golden opportunities to kick-start stalled peace negotiations in separative Indonesia and Sri Lanka.  

On Wednesday, Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda declared in Jakarta the likelihood of a formal meeting between the government and the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in January, and meanwhile Sri Lanka also greeted the arrival of the first Norwegian peace broker between the government and the Tamil Tiger rebels since the tidal waves struck at the end of last year.

"Behind the cloud there must be a silver lining," Wirajuda said to a press conference. "Behind the scenes a process is happening towards reconciliation."

While stressing "our hope is not too much" with an unsettled date or venue, Wirajuda said it is "indeed realistic to hold a meeting at the end of this month" with rebels in battered Aceh Province.

The disaster, which has tallied more than 115,000 lives in Aceh and North Sumatra provinces, has spurred enhanced efforts to resolve the separatist problem, he said.

The foreign minister said the Indonesian government and the GAM have been in informal contact since the tsunami disaster battered the restive province of Aceh, where the GAM has fought for independence since 1976. Formal talks between the two sides broke down in May 2003.

As foreign relief teams and assistance have poured in, the Indonesian government has recently called for more security measures, warning of possible attack of some "irresponsible groups."

The GAM denied any such intention, saying they welcomed international relief efforts and were seeking to reach a permanent cease-fire with the government.

The two sides have agreed to an informal cease-fire in the aftermath of the tsunami to facilitate the distribution of aid in the province.

Indonesian President Susilo and the Indonesian Military Force (TNI) Chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto have also urged all GAM members to finish their separatist movement and to join in the country's efforts to rebuild the devastated province along with the Acehnese.

In Sri Lanka, where rebel-held parts suffered equal devastation of loss of lives and property as the south of the country in the tidal waves, Jayantha Dhanapala, head of the government peace secretariat, said the rebels and the government have been working closely in providing relief operations and the tragedy had presented a new opportunity to kick-start negotiations.

The encouraging trend is further bolstered by the arrival of Erik Solheim, Norway's special envoy on the peace process between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tiger rebels.

This is the first visit by the Norwegians to post-Tsunami Sri Lanka and their efforts will be a mixture of assessing Sri Lanka's relief needs after the tragedy and to look for an early revival of the stalled peace talks between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels.

Solheim's visit is a prelude to a visit by Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen on Thursday, who will be accompanied by Minister of International Development Hilde F. Johnson.

Norway has been trying unsuccessfully to revive the stalled peace talks since May last year.

Petersen is to meet with the LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabakaran ending all speculation that the reclusive Tiger leader was either killed or badly injured in the tsunami tidal wave attacks, as the media have reported earlier.

Peace process in the country came to a deadlock in April 2003 when the LTTE announced a temporary pull out, blaming the then Sri Lankan government of doing little to implement decisions taken at six rounds of talks.

Direct talks under Norwegian facilitation aimed at ending the long drawn-out ethnic conflict began in September 2002.

(Xinhua News Agency January 20, 2005)