DATE=11/26/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=LANKA SPEECH (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-256575
BYLINE=VANDANA CHOPRA
DATELINE=COLOMBO
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The leader of Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels
says he wants to open negotiations with the government
that could bring an end to the nation's 16-years of
ethnic warfare. Vandana Chopra has the details from
Colombo.
TEXT: Velupillai Prabhakaran, the Tiger rebel leader,
says he wants to resolve the conflict through peaceful
means. In a speech on the rebel's Voice of Tiger
Radio, the guerrilla leader says the Tamil fighters
are strong enough to take over their homeland by force
but still prefer peace talks.
But he added that peace negotiations could not go
forward while the fighting continued or the Tamil
people were being strangled economically.
Prabhakaran also said he wants a third party to
mediate any talks with the Sri Lankan government. He
delivered the speech to mark "Heroes Day," an annual
event in which the Tiger rebels honor their comrades
killed in the ethnic fighting.
/// Opt ///Prabhakaran's speech comes just weeks
before elections next month in which President
Chandrika Kumaratunga is seeking a renewed mandate.
/// End Opt ///
Although the rebel leader pressed for a peaceful
settlement of the war, he also made it clear that his
group's eventual goal remained an independent Tamil
nation.
/// Opt /// Meanwhile, hours before his annual
speech, Prabhakaran ordered the release of seven
government soldiers. /// End Opt ///
The Tiger guerrillas have been fighting since 1983 for
a separate homeland for the minority Tamil community
in Sri Lanka's north and east. (SIGNED)
NEB/VC/JP
27-Nov-1999 10:35 AM EDT (27-Nov-1999 1535 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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