LTTE wants ceasefire before talks

COLOMBO, MARCH 24: Even as Norway began fresh round of negotiations with the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE to kick start the peace ta...

COLOMBO, MARCH 24: Even as Norway began fresh round of negotiations with the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE to kick start the peace talks, the Tamil rebels have proposed a ceasefire as a pre-condition for the dialogue.

Outlining the LTTE8217;s conditions for talks, rebel spokesman Anton Balasingham told the Tamil Guardian, a Tamil newspaper published from London, quot;We suggest a practical disengagement, of cessation of hostilities or ceasefire under international monitoring and re-allocation of troops to barracks to end military occupation.quot;

Balasingham said that the military dimensions of the conflict could be de-escalated through disengagement by both, LTTE forces and the Sri Lankan military followed by a cessation of hostilities and confinement of combatants to barracks under international monitoring.

The newspaper said that Balasingham spoke to it while currently recuperating at a hospital in an unnamed European capital after undergoing treatment for his kidney ailment at a hospital in Norwegian capital Oslo.

Excerpts of the interview were carried by Taminet, a Tamil news portal.

Referring to the rejection of LTTE8217;s prime demand that the army be withdrawn from all the Tamil dominated areas by President Chandrika Kumaratunga, he said, quot;She has only dealt with the problem of troops withdrawal. But at the same time, failed to fathom the scope and depth of the process of de-escalation proposed by us.quot;

quot;We are not against the presence of Sri Lankan troops, but opposed to the occupation of troops in civilian habitations in schools, in colleges of education, in holy temples, in cultural centres and in every street corner turning the Tamil towns into open prisons and causing tension and turmoil in Tamil civilian life,quot; Balasingham said.

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quot;If the Sri Lanka troops are confined to the barracks, we will also keep our forces in the camps. An effective ceasefire with the help of an international monitoring committee will certainly contain any possible violations of ceasefire,quot; he said, adding, quot;If the government agrees in principle to our proposals and begins de-escalation process by removing the repressive conditions, that would be a sufficient basis for peace talks.quot;

The fresh consultations were warranted after previous Norwegian government which originally undertook the mission collapsed after a fresh bout of political crisis in that country. The new government clarified that it would continue its role as facilitator between the Lankan government and the LTTE.

Explaining why cease-fire should precede talks, Balasingham said, quot;LTTE doesn8217;t want to engage in a dialogue of peace under conditions of continuous war. It is absurd to continue the war and continue to kill each other and talk peace. That is why we want the conditions of war removed before the commencement of peace talks.quot;

quot;We know that the government holds the view that military repression and economic oppression are necessary conditions to subdue the Tamils and force the Tigers to come to the negotiating table. I think this policy is fundamentally wrong and will not lead to a peace process,quot; he said.