03-09-2004, 09:27 AM
Tamil rebel rejects amnesty offer
<b>A breakaway Tamil Tiger rebel in Sri Lanka is reported to have rejected an offer of amnesty by the group's leadership.</b>
Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran made the offer in an attempt to end a split in rebel ranks.
It was on condition the colonel cease all his current activities immediately.
Diplomats have warned that the rebel crisis threatens Sri Lanka's faltering peace process and an existing ceasefire agreement.
On Monday, Norwegian envoy Erik Solheim flew into Colombo to review the situation ahead of the second anniversary of the truce between the rebels and the government.
But Mr Solheim's visit is likely to be dominated by the crisis among the rebels which erupted last week.
<b>Dissatisfied </b>
In an interview with the Associated Press news agency, the rebel group's political chief, SV Thamilselvan, had said that the amnesty was offered to enable Colonel Karuna to lead a private life.
A spokesman for Colonel Karuna said the commander would not accept the offer.
Reports say the Tamil Tiger leadership may be trying to isolate the commander from rebel fighters under his command.
Colonel Karuna, was expelled for reportedly expressing dissatisfaction that the bulk of the rebel fighters comes from eastern Sri Lanka, and yet all the top leadership comes from the north.
He remains in his eastern stronghold of Batticaloa, and correspondents say it is not clear if he will meet Mr Solheim, although he has expressed a willingness to do so.
Mr Thamilselvan ruled out resorting to military action against Colonel Karuna because he said he was only "a single individual".
He said the amnesty offer had been conveyed to the renegade commander through a delegation led by Roman Catholic Bishop Kingsley Swampillai.
<b>Tension</b>
Security has been strengthened in Batticaloa throughout Monday.
"We have extra police in the street, but there is no tension," senior police superintendent, Lasantha de Silva, said.
A spokesman for Colonel Karuna told the AFP news agency that everything possible would be done to avoid violence.
"We don't want to see any more bloodshed on our soil, but it depends on the [northern] leadership," he said.
The apparent split among the Tigers mirrors divisions within the Sri Lankan government, where the president and prime minister are at loggerheads over the best way of moving the peace process forward.
Their disagreements have meant that no formal peace negotiations between the government and the Tamil Tigers have taken place since April 2003.
Parliamentary elections are due to be held next month, and talks to end the 20-year-old conflict - which has claimed 60,000 lives - will be a central part of the election campaign.
On Sunday, Colonel Karuna - whose real name is Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan - said he had received reports that death squads had been sent to kill him.
From: www.bbc.co.uk
<b>A breakaway Tamil Tiger rebel in Sri Lanka is reported to have rejected an offer of amnesty by the group's leadership.</b>
Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran made the offer in an attempt to end a split in rebel ranks.
It was on condition the colonel cease all his current activities immediately.
Diplomats have warned that the rebel crisis threatens Sri Lanka's faltering peace process and an existing ceasefire agreement.
On Monday, Norwegian envoy Erik Solheim flew into Colombo to review the situation ahead of the second anniversary of the truce between the rebels and the government.
But Mr Solheim's visit is likely to be dominated by the crisis among the rebels which erupted last week.
<b>Dissatisfied </b>
In an interview with the Associated Press news agency, the rebel group's political chief, SV Thamilselvan, had said that the amnesty was offered to enable Colonel Karuna to lead a private life.
A spokesman for Colonel Karuna said the commander would not accept the offer.
Reports say the Tamil Tiger leadership may be trying to isolate the commander from rebel fighters under his command.
Colonel Karuna, was expelled for reportedly expressing dissatisfaction that the bulk of the rebel fighters comes from eastern Sri Lanka, and yet all the top leadership comes from the north.
He remains in his eastern stronghold of Batticaloa, and correspondents say it is not clear if he will meet Mr Solheim, although he has expressed a willingness to do so.
Mr Thamilselvan ruled out resorting to military action against Colonel Karuna because he said he was only "a single individual".
He said the amnesty offer had been conveyed to the renegade commander through a delegation led by Roman Catholic Bishop Kingsley Swampillai.
<b>Tension</b>
Security has been strengthened in Batticaloa throughout Monday.
"We have extra police in the street, but there is no tension," senior police superintendent, Lasantha de Silva, said.
A spokesman for Colonel Karuna told the AFP news agency that everything possible would be done to avoid violence.
"We don't want to see any more bloodshed on our soil, but it depends on the [northern] leadership," he said.
The apparent split among the Tigers mirrors divisions within the Sri Lankan government, where the president and prime minister are at loggerheads over the best way of moving the peace process forward.
Their disagreements have meant that no formal peace negotiations between the government and the Tamil Tigers have taken place since April 2003.
Parliamentary elections are due to be held next month, and talks to end the 20-year-old conflict - which has claimed 60,000 lives - will be a central part of the election campaign.
On Sunday, Colonel Karuna - whose real name is Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan - said he had received reports that death squads had been sent to kill him.
From: www.bbc.co.uk
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