Sri Lanka on Tuesday marked the international day of peace islandwide with calls for an end to the two decades of ethnic conflict from both the government and Tamil Tiger rebels.

A huge mass meditation was held in capital Colombo with the participation of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and Norwegian ambassador to Sri LankaHans Brattskar.

At an official ceremony marking the occasion, government spokesman Mangala Samaraweera said both the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels had expressed their commitment to peace but it was now time to translate "words into deeds."

"This war weariness is what will propel both parties to the peace process in a much more focused manner," Samaraweera, who is also the media minister, said.

"The Tamil people yearn for a lasting peace and wish to join hands with the UN and the peace loving humanity to continue work for peace and create a world wherein every human being can live with peace and dignity without oppression and denial of basic human rights." the LTTE rebels said in a statement.

"I now have reason to believe we are at the threshold of transforming our little country into a peaceful nation where all communities can live in peace and harmony," President Chandrika Kumaratunga said in a message.

"May this be the day on which we Sri Lankans resolve to discard all our ideological differences and unite for a lasting and dignified peace," she said.

The LTTE rebels suspended the peace talks with the government in April last year after a six-round of face to face negotiations which began in September 2002.

Fighting between the two sides came to a halt when they entered into Norwegian-brokered ceasefire seven months before the first round of talks commenced.

The Norwegian facilitators failed to break the deadlock in the peace process in their latest efforts last week.

Source: Xinhua