Lankan Tigers agree to hold talks on SLMM issues
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
New Delhi, May 29, IRNA
Sri Lanka-LTTE-Talks
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said they have accepted an invitation of Norway's peace facilitators to attend a meeting in Oslo early next month with the government to discuss issues relating to the functions and operations of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM).
"Our leadership has agreed to the request by the Norwegian facilitators and decided to attend the proposed talks in Oslo next month to discuss the functions and operations of the SLMM," LTTE's political wing head, S P Thamilselvan, was quoted as saying by Doordarshan News in a pro-LTTE Tamil language website.
The LTTE's acceptance to attend the Oslo talks comes exactly a couple of days after the visiting Norwegian special peace envoy, Jon Hanssen-Bauer, invited the rebels and the government to Oslo on June 8 and 9 to discuss the SLMM issues, but clarified that these "are not peace talks."
Although the LTTE has agreed to attend the Oslo talks, the transport arrangements and the safety measures of the LTTE negotiating team attending the talks have not been finalized as yet.
"The Norwegian facilitators have taken full responsibility for arrangements and safety of the LTTE negotiating team. Decision in this regard would be taken within a couple of days," Thamilselvan said.
Although the LTTE had promptly accepted the invitation to attend the Oslo talks, the government has not announced its decision officially on whether it would attend the talks or not.
However, a top government source said that a decision "was under consideration."
The SLMM, on May 14, announced that it had temporarily suspended its naval monitoring operations in the northeastern sea waters of Sri Lanka, where the LTTE made an abortive attempt to attack a Sri Lankan naval vessel carrying over 700 security force personnel on May 11.
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