Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse has appointed a think tank to assist him in formulating a draft framework towards a final solution to the country's long drawn-out separatist armed conflict, presidential secretariat sources said Monday.

A 12-member think tank comprising of constitutional legal experts are to draw from the outcomes of the deliberations of an all political party parley convened by the president, the sources added.

The think tank is to be headed by H. L. De Silva, an eminent civil and constitutional lawyer with wide experience in dealing with the separatist armed conflict waged by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels.

Rajapakse from the inception of his presidential term has strived to reach an all political party consensus on the final outcome of the Norwegian backed peace process with the Tiger rebels.

The appointment of the legal think tank comes amid the breakdown of last week's Oslo talks between the Tigers and the government.

The Tigers for the second time within six weeks refused to engage the government in direct talks throwing into uncertainty the ongoing ceasefire and the fragile peace process.

An upsurge of violence since December last year has accounted for deaths of over 700 people.

Both sides accuse the other of perpetrating violence. The international community has faulted both sides for the violence and urges quick return to the negotiating table.

Source: Xinhua