The Sri Lankan government appealed on Monday to the Tamil Tiger rebels to resume stalled peace talks before the country descends into full-scale war. The appeal comes amid a sharp spike in violence across this island nation, with government forces and Tiger rebels engaging in a bloody tit-for-tat campaign that has left dozens dead in just the past few days.A statement from the government Peace Secretariat, which oversees the peace process, said it wants to engage the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in talks so as to address the root causes of the conflict that may have contributed to it to take to arms and the path of terrorism.’’The statement urged the rebels ‘‘to re-enter negotiations’’ either directly or through Norwegian facilitators who brokered the country’s oft-violated 2002 cease-fire.The Tigers could not be reached for comment. The government statement also denied the existence of a de facto Tiger state—though the Tigers control large territories where they have everything from a police force to a judicial system, and where government officials are allowed only with Tiger invitations.‘‘Neither the government nor the international community recognises a ‘de facto State of Tamil Eelam (homeland),’’’ the Peace Secretariat statement said. Earlier, the Tigers said they would resort to any strategy— including suicide bombers—if all-out civil war resumes, and that the effects would be felt across the island.‘‘If the Sri Lankan government, instead of bringing an end to the war, force another brutal war on the Tamils.then the effects of that war will be felt throughout the island,’’ said rebel political wing leader SP Thamilselvan told Reuters in an email interview.‘‘If the government unleashes another ethnic war on Tamils, then the Tamils will not hesitate to use any strategy to defend themselves,’’ he added, when asked if the LTTE would resort to feared Black Tiger suicide bombers.The Tigers have said they will intensify attacks against the military if the government orders further air strikes on their positions in the North and East.Thamilselvan said the only way to de-escalate tensions was for killings of Tamil civilians to stop and for the government to honour a pledge to disarm armed groups opposed to them—namely a breakaway faction led by a former Tiger commander called Karuna who they accuse the military of helping kill their fighters.
