Sri Lankan govt warns Tamil rebels of making hard decision

Sri Lanka's Acting Defense Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake has warned that the government will be compelled to take a hard decision if Tamil Tiger rebels donot stop their killings in the country's war-battered north and east, the official Daily News said on Thursday.

"In the name of the peace there is a limit to our patience and how long will we have to tolerate these killings," Wickremanayake who visited the navy headquarters in capital Colombo on Wednesday said.

He said that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebelsshould solve their internal disputes amicably without accusing government of supporting their rivals.

"Don't draw us to war directly or indirectly since the government has no intention to get back to war," he warned the rebels.

He also said that the government is always ready for the resumption of stalled peace talks.

Despite pressure from the international community, the LTTE rebels have been continuing their killings of loyalists of renegade eastern commander known as Karuna, their opponents as well as government intelligence personnel.

Karuna split from the mainstream rebel group in March and he went underground one month later when he was unable to resist attack by the main rebel group from north.

The LTTE rebels have accused the government of harboring Karunafaction, a charge denied by the government.

Source: Xinhua