Sri Lanka agrees to talks with Tamil Tigers
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
New Delhi, Sept 14, IRNA
Sri Lanka-LTTE-Talks
Brightening hopes for peace, the Sri Lankan government formally agreed to enter into talks with Tamil Tiger rebels to end the renewed spurt in violence that has left over 1500 dead in the island nation.
In a statement released hours after a minister slammed peace broker Norway for saying that the talks would be "unconditional," the government Wednesday said it was committed to negotiations with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) but wanted strict
implementation of the 2002 ceasefire, reports received from Colombo said.
"While the government notes the concerns, it remains fully committed to participate at peace talks with the LTTE," said the statement.
However, the specific modalities relating to dates and venue must be discussed and agreed between the government of Sri Lanka and the facilitator (Norway)," it said.
The government said it had reservations regarding the sincerity of the LTTE and called for "strict implementation" of the collapsing 2002 truce.
More than 1500 people have been killed both in Sri Lanka's northeast and its capital, Colombo, in violence that escalated since last December.
Although the two sides met for talks in February in Switzerland and had agreed to meet again in June, the meeting that was scheduled to be held in Oslo did not take place.
Colombo's willingness to resume talks was a climbdown from a statement made earlier in the day by Policy Planning Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, who said the government was "surprised" by the remarks of Norway's top peace envoy Erik Solheim in Belgium.
Solheim announced at a meeting of Sri Lanka's key aid donors in the Belgian capital Brussels that Colombo and LTTE were ready for talks "without conditions."
He said the talks could be held in the first week of October in Oslo.
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