Lanka, LTTE begin autonomy talks

Sri Lanka began negotiations with Tamil Tiger rebels on the issue of regional autonomy on Tuesday, and hailed it as a breakthrough in the pe...

Sri Lanka began negotiations with Tamil Tiger rebels on the issue of regional autonomy on Tuesday, and hailed it as a breakthrough in the peace talks aimed at ending their 19-year war.

8216;8216;We began the discussion of the core political issues,8217;8217; Chief government negotiator G.L. Peiris said on the second day of Norwegian-brokered talks in Oslo. 8216;8216;This is the breakthrough today 8212; the commencement of this work8217;8217;.

The government and rebels will examine how Canada guarantees the rights of French speakers among an English-speaking majority and look at other models for integrating minorities, including Australia, Germany, Switzerland and India.

Peiris said Tuesday8217;s talks were a landmark in addressing the issue of how Tamils in the North and East can live alongside the Sinhalese majority after a separatist war in which 64,000 people have died.

8216;8216;It is a long haul, it is going to take time,8217;8217; Peiris said in an Oslo hotel, adding that 8216;8216;A conflict that has raged for two decades and which has assumed these serious proportions cannot8230;be resolved in a matter of two months or three months.8217;8217;

He said the reclusive leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam LTTE, Velupillai Prabhakaran, had paved the way for the talks by conceding last week that Tamil aspirations could be met by self-rule and regional autonomy.

Previously, the Tigers had demanded a separate state in the North and East of the island state.

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Peiris said the two sides could cooperate on defining 8216;8216;extensive power-sharing to fulfil the aspirations of different segments of the people of our country in the context of one country.8217;8217;

Peiris also said that a former leader of Amnesty International, Ian Martin, would work as an adviser on human rights.

Earlier, the rebels assured the Colombo government that rebel-run police and courts were no threat to peace efforts. Reuters