Talk opportunity for Sri Lanka

2004-05-13 20:29

Colombo - A top Norwegian envoy clinched an agreement on Thursday with Tamil Tiger rebels on reviving peace negotiations with the Sri Lankan government, the guerrillas said.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) announced an end to the impasse over resuming peace talks after Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen made an unscheduled visit to the rebel-held town of Kilinochchi on Thursday.

The Tigers' chief peace negotiator, Anton Balasingham, told reporters in Kilinochchi, 330km north of here, that Oslo would announce the deal between the Tigers and the Colombo government.

"There are some practical problems to be sorted out over when and where to hold the talks" Balasingham said.

"The Norwegian government will make an official announcement regarding the basic agreements we have reached regarding the resumption of the talks in a day or two".

However, Balasingham said there were still some issues where there had been no agreement, but declined to give details of his two-hour talks with Helgesen who stayed an extra day for the last-ditch attempt to jumpstart talks.

Helgesen stayed back after his boss, Jan Petersen, left on Wednesday after failing to secure an agreement on resuming negotiations which have been stalled since April last year.

Helgesen travelled to Kilinochchi in a military helicopter for fresh talks before his slated departure from here on Thursday evening.

The breakthrough came after the new Sri Lankan government expressed hope on Wednesday of opening initial talks with the Tigers within the next three months even after Petersen's failed bid.

Balasingham told reporters he did not expect face-to-face talks with the new government to begin this month. He did not give a timeframe for opening a fresh dialogue.

"It will be talks about talks", government spokesperson Reginold Cooray said. "The president is keen to solve this matter through a dialogue".

Four previous attempts to end Sri Lanka's ethnic bloodshed have failed. More than 60 000 people have died in the conflict over the past three decades.

LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran told Petersen peace talks must be based on the rebels' plan for self-rule. The rebels have been fighting for a separate Tamil homeland.

President Chandrika Kumaratunga has already rejected the Tiger blueprint which would set up an "Interim Self Governing Authority" giving the rebels political and financial autonomy.

The Norwegian shuttle diplomacy is to be followed by a visit by Christina Rocca, the top US State Department official for South Asia, who is due to hold talks with Sri Lankan leaders here on Thursday.

- AFP