(Colombo) –
The Pathfinder Foundation has officially inaugurated the ‘Repository for Sri Lanka Peace Initiatives,’ a dedicated reference center aimed at preserving the vital history of Sri Lanka’s attempts to resolve its decades-long conflict.
The repository was declared open by Mr. Erik Solheim, the former Norwegian Special Envoy to the Sri Lanka peace process. The event was hosted by Mr. Milinda Moragoda, Founder of the Pathfinder Foundation, and Mr. Bernard Goonetilleke, Chairman of the Foundation. Notably, both Mr. Moragoda and Mr. Goonetilleke were key figures and principal negotiators during the peace talks.
Bridging the Historical Gap For decades, Sri Lanka sought to end the separatist conflict through various negotiation efforts. While numerous books and papers have analyzed these events, a significant gap remained: the lack of a centralized archive housing the primary documents, particularly from the 2002–2008 period managed by the Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP) and Norwegian facilitators.
Addressing this void, the Pathfinder Foundation established this repository to collate and preserve documents from both local and international sources. This initiative ensures that future researchers, historians, and the public have access to critical information regarding negotiations that, although inconclusive, shaped the nation’s history.
Mr. Erik Solheim, who also served as Norway’s Minister of Environment and International Development and Executive Director of the UNEP, toured the new facility, viewing archived digital records and historical documents related to the ceasefire talks.