Tigers, Lankan govt to resume ceasefire talks

Sri Lanka’s government and Tamil Tiger rebels will meet in Switzerland for crunch talks on implementing their strained 2002 truce, Norw...

Sri Lanka’s government and Tamil Tiger rebels will meet in Switzerland for crunch talks on implementing their strained 2002 truce, Norway said on Wednesday, resolving an impasse on the venue.

A string of suspected rebel attacks on troops in the Tamil dominated north and east over the past two months have pushed the country to the brink of war.

“Both sides agreed there is a need to come together to decide how the ceasefire can be implemented in a better manner,” Norwegian truce broker Eric Solheim told reporters in the Tiger de facto capital Kilinochchi. “I expect Geneva to be the venue.”

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The Tigers had previously said they would only accept talks in Oslo, but sources said the government was not willing to meet there. Solheim said Norway had suggested Switzerland as a compromise, and that talks would probably be held in February.

Reclusive rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran meets few outside his inner circle, but observers say Solheim has built up a rapport with him since Norway was asked to mediate in the conflict after playing a similar role in the Middle East.

The LTTE said the attacks would stop if the government ceased abusing the Tamil minority. “There has been some LTTE military action, but mostly these incidents are the peoples’ militia,” said Anton Balasingham. — Reuters

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