Colombo, Tigers hold direct talks in London<\/p>\n
Agence France-Presse, Colombo<\/p>\n
The Sri Lankan government said on Sunday it had held face-to-face
\ntalks in London with Tamil Tiger rebels ahead of formal peace
\nnegotiations in Thailand.<\/p>\n
Minister of Economic Reform Milinda Moragoda, one of two
\nministers picked by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to pursue
\nthe Norwegian-sponsored peace process, met with the Tigers' chief
\nnegotiator Anton Balasingham in London on Saturday, a government
\nstatement said.<\/p>\n
It was the first ministerial-level meeting the Sri Lankan
\ngovernment has held with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
\n(LTTE) since the two sides signed an indefinite cease-fire
\nagreement on Feb. 22.<\/p>\n
\"The discussion covered a variety of issues regarding the
\nimplementation of the cease-fire agreement and preparations for
\ndirect negotiations in Thailand, including the agenda,\" the
\nstatement said.<\/p>\n
Previous talks since the cease-fire went into effect have been
\nheld by Bernard Gunatilleke, the head of the government's \"peace
\nsecretariat\" coordinating the peace bid.<\/p>\n
Official sources said peace talks were expected in Thailand in
\nAugust or September.<\/p>\n
The negotiations had been expected earlier in the summer, but
\nthe sources said the government and Tigers first wanted to ensure
\nthat the memorandum of understanding setting out the cease-fire
\nwas being fully implemented.<\/p>\n
Norway has been trying to broker talks between the two sides
\nto end three decades of ethnic bloodshed that has claimed more
\nthan 60,000 lives.<\/p>\n
The Tigers has been fighting for a homeland called \"Eelam\" for
\nthe island's ethnic Tamil minority.<\/p>\n
The peace process was revived after Wickremesinghe was elected
\nin December on promises to bring peace to Sri Lanka and jumpstart
\nits troubled economy.<\/p>\n
The cease-fire has largely held up, despite a series of
\nincidents that have raised alarm bells.<\/p>\n
The Scandinavian force monitoring the cease-fire said that on
\nJuly 13 two of its members were briefly held against their will
\nby the rebels after the observers were asked by the Sri Lankan
\nnavy to inspect a suspected Tiger boat.<\/p>\n
The monitors denounced the Tigers' \"irresponsible behavior\"
\nbut said the rebels expressed regret during a meeting with the
\nchief observer, retired Norwegian major general Trond Furuhovde.<\/p>\n
And last week, a Sri Lankan soldier was killed by the Tigers
\nafter he crossed into rebel territory and opened fire on LTTE
\ncadres. The government played down the incident and the monitors
\nsaid the soldier was motivated by \"unknown personal reasons.\"<\/p>\n
But the two sides have also reopened two key highways under
\nthe cease-fire and Wickremesinghe in March became the first Sri
\nLankan leader in two decades to visit the embattled northern
\npeninsula of Jaffna, a Tiger stronghold.<\/p>\n
The meeting in London, a large base for expatriate Tamils,
\ncame as Wickremesinghe wins increasing international support for
\nthe peace drive.<\/p>\n
Last week the prime minister visited Washington, where he said
\nhe received encouragement from President George W. Bush \"to go
\nahead with the political process to bring peace to Sri Lanka, a
\npeace based on equality, human rights, rule of law, in other
\nwords democracy\".<\/p>\n
\"I got all the support I want for (the peace process),\" he
\nsaid after his meeting at the White House.<\/p>\n
The U.S. has hinted that the Tigers, known for their trademark
\nsuicide bombings, could incur the wrath of the international \"war
\non terrorism\" if they scuttled the peace drive.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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