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Tamils beginning to lose hope: LTTE

By V.S. Sambandan

COLOMBO Oct. 18. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has said that "Tamils are beginning to lose hope in the peace process'' and cautioned that the process would be "retarded'' if the Government "delays creating environment conducive for peace''.

A high-level LTTE team, led by its political wing leader, S.P. Tamilchelvan, who met the Norwegian Foreign Minister, Jan Petersen, in Oslo on Friday, also wanted the international community "to bring pressure'' on Colombo to put in place "confidence-building'' measures, the LTTE's official website said.

The LTTE's team, which includes its eastern special military commander, V. Muralitharan (a.k.a. `Col' Karuna), called on Mr. Petersen on its way back from Dublin, where it "fine-tuned'' its counter-proposals to Colombo's offer of a provisional administrative structure.

Continuing to insist on a demand by its leader, V. Prabakaran, last November that the Sri Lankan army should vacate the northern Jaffna peninsula, Mr. Tamilchelvan told Mr. Petersen: "recent activities of the military in the Northeast indicate a hostile attitude towards the civilians''.

It may be recalled that the peace talks went into a limbo since Mr. Prabakaran's demand that the northern High Security Zones (HSZs) be removed.

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