12-23-2004, 11:41 AM
Thu, Dec 23, 2004
Asia - AFP
Tamil Tiger rebels reject Sri Lanka's offer to revive peace talks
38 minutes ago Asia - AFP
COLOMBO, (AFP) - Tiger rebels have rejected Sri Lanka's new proposal to revive peace negotiations despite international pressure to save the Norwegian-backed initiative, Tamil sources said.
AFP/HO/LTTE Photo
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) told Tamil journalists late Wednesday that they did not accept the latest offer made through peace broker Norway, the sources said.
"The Tigers do not see any real substance in the proposals and consider it an attempt to deflect international public opinion that is building against the government," a source close to the Tigers said.
He said the government was willing to consider "interim arrangements" to administer the island's troubled northeast region, but there was no specific mention of the LTTE's proposal for self-rule.
LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran last month warned the "freedom struggle" would be resumed unless Colombo agreed to discuss his self-rule plan for an "Interim Self-Governing Authority."
Tamil sources said there was no mention in the government's latest offer about President Chandrika Kumaratunga's demand that elements of a final peace deal must be taken up at the start of negotiations.
"It is not clear whether this is a climb down by the president or an attempt to introduce it when talks resume," the Tamil source said. "There is no clarity on this matter."
He said the LTTE's London-based chief negotiator Anton Balasingham was expected to formally announce the LTTE's rejection of the government offer "in a couple of days or so."
Balasingham was given the government proposal by Norway's special envoy Erik Solheim during a meeting in London Monday.
Solheim last week held talks with both the president and Tiger leaders on attempts to resume peace negotiations which have been suspended since April last year.
Officials close to the process said there was intense pressure from international donors on Colombo to begin discussions while the Tigers too had been asked to be "flexible" and go for talks for a permanent end to three decades of fighting which has claimed over 60,000 lives.
Sri Lanka's international donors have singled out the president's main Marxist coalition partner, the JVP, or People's Liberation Front, as a key obstacle to talks.
The JVP opposes any concessions to the Tigers.
Scandinavian monitors observing a truce between the two sides since February 2002 said increased violations and the absence of talks could jeopardise the entire peace process and plunge the country back into war.
Asia - AFP
Tamil Tiger rebels reject Sri Lanka's offer to revive peace talks
38 minutes ago Asia - AFP
COLOMBO, (AFP) - Tiger rebels have rejected Sri Lanka's new proposal to revive peace negotiations despite international pressure to save the Norwegian-backed initiative, Tamil sources said.
AFP/HO/LTTE Photo
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) told Tamil journalists late Wednesday that they did not accept the latest offer made through peace broker Norway, the sources said.
"The Tigers do not see any real substance in the proposals and consider it an attempt to deflect international public opinion that is building against the government," a source close to the Tigers said.
He said the government was willing to consider "interim arrangements" to administer the island's troubled northeast region, but there was no specific mention of the LTTE's proposal for self-rule.
LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran last month warned the "freedom struggle" would be resumed unless Colombo agreed to discuss his self-rule plan for an "Interim Self-Governing Authority."
Tamil sources said there was no mention in the government's latest offer about President Chandrika Kumaratunga's demand that elements of a final peace deal must be taken up at the start of negotiations.
"It is not clear whether this is a climb down by the president or an attempt to introduce it when talks resume," the Tamil source said. "There is no clarity on this matter."
He said the LTTE's London-based chief negotiator Anton Balasingham was expected to formally announce the LTTE's rejection of the government offer "in a couple of days or so."
Balasingham was given the government proposal by Norway's special envoy Erik Solheim during a meeting in London Monday.
Solheim last week held talks with both the president and Tiger leaders on attempts to resume peace negotiations which have been suspended since April last year.
Officials close to the process said there was intense pressure from international donors on Colombo to begin discussions while the Tigers too had been asked to be "flexible" and go for talks for a permanent end to three decades of fighting which has claimed over 60,000 lives.
Sri Lanka's international donors have singled out the president's main Marxist coalition partner, the JVP, or People's Liberation Front, as a key obstacle to talks.
The JVP opposes any concessions to the Tigers.
Scandinavian monitors observing a truce between the two sides since February 2002 said increased violations and the absence of talks could jeopardise the entire peace process and plunge the country back into war.
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