South African President Jacob Zuma's special envoy to Sri Lanka and Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa will visit the war-torn Northern Province today to get first-hand information on the progress made by the Tamil dominated region after the end of the three-decade civil war.
Cyril Ramaphosa was appointed by Zuma in mid-February following the latter's visit here for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) summit November last year.
His tour of former LLTE stronghold of Jaffna will be preceded by talks with leaders of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), officials said.
Kick-starting his two-day visit yesterday, he met President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and the External Affairs Minister G L Peiris.
"As you will recall, the President (Zuma) appointed me as his Special Envoy to help with the consolidation of peace in Sri Lanka. What we are going to do there, we are going to listen to the Sri Lankans," a press release issued by Ramaphosa prior to his Colombo visit said.
The South African initiative on the resolution of the Tamil issue dates back to August 2012 when Ibrahim Ibrahim then deputy minister of international relations visited Sri Lanka.
The South African government has emphasised that lasting peace could be achieved when the reconciliation process is underscored by an inclusive dialogue that addressed rights and freedoms of the Tamils.
"We will also try to help the Sri Lankans with the truth and reconciliation process, their own constitutional reform and make sure Sri Lanka does indeed become a stable country where they will enjoy human rights," the release added.
However, his effort came under increasing attack from Rajapaksa's nationalist allies, claiming foreign interventions will have disastrous consequences.
"We have seen many dubious international interventions. We stay opposed to international mediation," Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe, the nationalist JHU propagandist said.
"We are concerned about his agenda in Sri Lanka," National Freedom Front spokesman Mohamed Muzzamil said.
His efforts would make South Africa the third country in the history the Sri Lankan conflict to mediate besides India and Norway.
The Indian mediation came in 1987 with the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord of July that year. Norway brokered peace deal with the LTTE during 2002 and 2004. Both efforts came a cropper.
Sri Lankan officials and Tamil leaders had previously visited South Africa to study the country's post-apartheid truth and reconciliation commission.
