Tigers deny 'official talks' with Sri Lankan minister
Tigers deny 'official talks' with Sri Lankan minister
COLOMBO (AFP): The Tamil Tiger guerrillas Wednesday denied holding talks with a Sri Lankan minister but said they had provided security for him during a Catholic pilgrimage to a rebel-held area.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) accused Aviation Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle of "falsely" raising peace hopes after his pilgrimage to the town of Madhu in the island's north Monday.
LTTE official Anton Balasingham was quoted on the pro-rebel Tamilnet.com website as saying that Fernandopulle had misunderstood his talks with "border guards".
"Mr Fernandopulle only met our border guards who provided security for the minister who had entered territory under our control for the purposes of pilgrimage to the Madhu shrine," Balasingham said.
"The minister appears to have misunderstood the role and capacity of the cadres whom he met during his crossing," he said.
"Regrettably, Mr Fernandopulle, whose government is facing severe political problems, has falsely raised hopes of peace with his peculiar claim of a meeting with LTTE leaders."
Balasingham said international coverage of the meeting -- the first case of a cabinet minister coming face to face with Tiger rebels in 11 years -- had also "unreasonably heightened optimism".
Fernandopulle's office had said in a statement that he held talks with regional leaders of the LTTE who asked him to launch a fresh peace initiative.
The minister also said he was provided protection by Tiger guerrillas during the pilgrimage.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's peace bid remained in limbo on Wednesday as officials and diplomats said a shock visit to rebel- held areas by a cabinet minister had nothing to do with a Norwegian initiative to end the 18-year-old ethnic war.
The diplomats in Colombo dismissed speculation that the trip, the first of its kind by a cabinet minister in 10 years, was linked to the peace process.
"The Norwegian government had nothing to do with this," said a spokesman for the Norwegian embassy in Colombo.
Norway has been trying to bring the two sides to the negotiating table for the past 18 months, but its efforts have been hamstrung by haggling over conditions for talks.
Diplomats said there had been no new peace moves since the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) attacked the country's only international airport last month, destroying civilian and military aircraft.
"We know nothing of this visit," a government spokesman said.
The peace process has also been overshadowed by an escalating political crisis, with the minority government looking for new allies before parliament reconvenes on September 7.
A Marxist group implacably opposed to the peace process has reported progress in talks with President Chandrika Kumaratunga who suspended parliament last month ahead of no-confidence vote.
In an another development, Sri Lankan military aircraft bombed a Tamil rebel trench line in the island's northern Jaffna peninsula Wednesday, defense officials said.
Two Israeli-built Kfir jets attacked separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam positions at Pallai. There were no immediate reports of rebel casualties.
Wednesday's attack followed a similar air strike against another LTTE base at Chempianpattu where the rebels had a radio communications center, the officials said.
On Monday, the air force bombed rebel bases in the nearby Soranpattu area.
The military has stepped up air attacks against the LTTE since the rebels launched a daring raid on Sri Lanka's international airport and adjoining airbase on July 24.