Sri Lanka government says no change in Tamil Tiger stance

Sri Lankan government announced Thursday that two international community representatives who visited the island last week were not able to break the deadlock between the Tamil Tigers and the government to start talks to review the ongoing truce.

Nimal Siripala De Silva, the government spokesman and the Minister of Health, told reporters that Trond Furuhovde, the special Norwegian representative, was not able to get the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to change its stance on the venue for the talks.

The Tigers had insisted that talks should be held either in the rebel held Kilinochchi district or overseas.

The government maintained that talks should be held only within Sri Lanka.

The Norwegian peace facilitators suggested that talks should be held at the Colombo international airport, and the offer was rejected by the Tigers.

The government had called for talks to review the February 2002 ceasefire with the LTTE's involvement in the Aug. 12 murder of the foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar.

Furuhovde and Ian Martin, a former Amnesty International chief visited the island and held talks with the LTTE.

"Our understanding is that both Furuhovde and Martin were disappointed with the LTTE stance," the spokesman said.

De Silva however said the government was committed to the ceasefire and would do everything to uphold it.

Demonstrating its commitment, De Silva said the government had facilitated the transfer of two seriously ill Tiger members on Wednesday from Kilinochchi to the capital Colombo for urgent medical treatment as a humanitarian gesture.

De Silva also dismissed accusations by the LTTE that a Sri Lanka Air force unmanned aircraft which had crashed into rebel territory was on a flight violating the ceasefire.

He said the government had the right to use the airspace of the entire country.

Source: Xinhua