South African Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma Saturday condemned the assassination of her Sri Lankan counterpart Lakshman Kadirgamar on Friday.

Dlamini-Zuma said in a statement that Kadirgamar's killing was meant to derail peace talks between the Sri Lankan government and rebel group, the Tamil Tigers. The rebel group has denied involvement in the assassination.

"The government of South Africa condemns without equivocation the use of assassinations as a means to achieve political ends," the minister said in a statement.

"Quite clearly the objective of this assassination was to derail the current peace process between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers," she noted.

She said both the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers owed it to their people not to allow "extremists" to derail the peace process. Both parties should remain committed to efforts aimed at bringing about lasting peace.

Dlamini-Zuma said Kadirgamar, who was killed by sniper fire in Colombo midnight Friday, would be sorely missed for his positive contribution to organizations such as the Non-Aligned Movement and Indian Ocean-Rim.

Source: Xinhua