Sri Lanka says goodwill extended to rebels despite ongoing tension

Sri Lankan government said Thursday that it had extended a hand of goodwill to the Tamil Tiger rebels despite the ongoing violence which has put the Norwegian backed peace process between the two sides at severe risk.

Keheliya Rambukwella, the Minister of Policy Planning and the government's defense spokesman said that Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels' media co-ordinator, Velayutham Dayanidhi alias Daya Master was transferred from the rebel held north to the capital Colombo for urgent medical attention on government facilitation.

Daya Master who acts as the LTTE's media spokesperson was suffering from a severe heart ailment. "The President Mahinda Rajapakse ordered his transfer to Colombo following a request from his family", Rambukwella said adding that it was purely a humanitarian gesture.

The defense sources in Colombo said that Daya Master was admitted to a leading privately owned hospital in the capital in the early hours of Thursday and extensive security is being provided to the hospital.

The government's goodwill gesture came amidst the current upsurge of violence blamed mostly on the Tamil Tiger rebels.

Nearly 900 people have been killed in the cycle of violence since the end of 2005. The LTTE is accused of carrying out suicide bomb explosions in the capital targeting the country's Army Commander who was seriously injured in the April 25 blast at the Army headquarters.

The Army's No 3, Maj Gen Parami Kulatunga was similarly assassinated two months later also in the capital. The international backers of the fragile process have urged both sides to put a stop to violence and get back to the negotiating table.

Source: Xinhua