LTTE request peace brokers to postpone ceasefire talks
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
New Delhi, April 13, IRNA
Sri Lanka-LTTE-Peace Talk
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) today requested Norway's peacebroker to postpone the ceasefire talks with the Sri Lankan government, scheduled for next week in Switzerland, amid a fresh war of words with the authorities following a wave of bombings in the island nation.
The three-day parleys due to start next Wednesday cannot go ahead and "the Tigers have asked Norwegian facilitators to suggest a new date for the talks in Geneva", a PTI report said here quoting the LTTE's political wing chief S.P. Thamilselvan as saying.
The Scandinavian truce monitors ended a deadlock over the LTTE's request to move their field commanders from the east of the island to the north for ceasefire consultation, it said.
Earlier, the government had declined air transport for the tigers and insisted that the navy must take them, a position rejected by the Tigers.
Now the truce monitors have agreed to hire a private ferry and take the Tigers under their own escorts.
Thamilselvan conveyed the decision for a one-week postponement of the talks during today's negotiation with Ulf Henricsson, the chief of the monitoring mission.
The guerrilla leaders in the north will hold talks with the eastern commanders until April 22 and then decide on a further course of action.
The government and Tigers earlier met in Switzerland in February and agreed to scale down violence that killed at least 153 people in December and January.
The Tigers, who have been fighting for independence for the island's minority Tamils, have accused Colombo of not delivering on a promise made at that meeting to disarm rival militants.
2160/2326/1416
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
