Sri Lanka to Begin Peace Talks in Three Months

Home>>World

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, February 25, 2002

Sri Lanka to Begin Peace Talks in Three Months

The Norwegian-brokered peace talks between the Sri Lankan government and separatist Tamil Tigerrebels are to begin in three months, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Sunday.

DISCUSSION

CHINESE

SEND TO FRIEND

The Norwegian-brokered peace talks between the Sri Lankan government and separatist Tamil Tigerrebels are to begin in three months, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Sunday.

Speaking at a news conference, Wickremesinghe, who Friday entered a historic truce deal with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels, said that the next step of the process was tostart talks on talks.

However, he said that despite the permanent truce agreement with LTTE rebels, the government had not worked out any blue prints just yet of a solution to be offered to the LTTE rebels.

He said the LTTE are free to put anything on their agenda to be discussed at peace talks but a separate state would never figure in such negotiations. He maintained that his government would always defend the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka as one state.

The government is seeking a political solution to end the country's drawn out ethnic conflict that has left over 64,000 dead.The LTTE rebels have been fighting against the government troops since 1983 with an aim to set up a separate homeland for the minority Tamils in the north and east of the country.

Responding to criticism by the leftist party JVP or the People's Liberation Front, the prime minister dismissed the notion that by signing the truce pact his government had conceded to the rebels.

In a statement, the JVP had called Wickremesinghe's truce pactas "an agreement of surrender that has undermined the Sri Lankan state before Tiger terrorism."

The prime minister said the political and financial support ofthe international community for Sri Lanka's peace process is vital.Foreign governments have expressed their support for the rehabilitation in the north and east of the country, he added.

He said that the international team of monitors from Nordic countries would be arriving here later in the week to start work on monitoring ceasefire between the government and LTTE rebels.

Questions?Comments? Click here

Sri Lankan Govt, Tamil Tiger Sign Permanent Ceasefire

Sri Lankan Peace Talks Likely to be Held in Soon

Norwegian Delegation Arrives in Sri Lanka to Broker Truce