International   

Colombo's response positive

B. Muralidhar Reddy

Peace talks with LTTE likely in Geneva from October 28 to 30

— PHOTO: Sriyantha Walpola

A soldier defuses a Claymore mine found in Colombo on Wednesday.

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka is believed to have responded positively to the readiness of the LTTE for peace talks as conveyed through the official facilitator, Norway. Indications are the next round of talks will be held in Geneva from October 28 to 30.

A senior Minister in the Government who did not want to be identified told The Hindu , "President Mahinda Rajapaksa briefed the Cabinet on Wednesday about the LTTE response to the September 12 Co-Chairs statement on talks. We were given to understand that the Government is satisfied with the Tamil Tigers response and a formal statement could be expected either from the President's or the Peace Secretariat on Thursday."

Diplomatic sources told The Hindu the LTTE message to Norwegian Special Envoy Jon Hanssen Bauer was nuanced. The crux of the message was it might be "down but not" and would not hesitate to deploy its "full strength" if the Government is not "serious" about talks and continued with its military offensive.

Clear determination

They also claimed that the Government had made it clear about its determination not to allow the LTTE to re-group militarily during the talks period.

A resolution on the worrying human rights situation tabled in the U.N. is also believed to have tipped the scales in favour of the dialogue.

Notwithstanding the positive developments in the last few days, the diplomatic community here is concerned about the possibility of hardliners on either side spoiling the atmosphere in the run up to the talks. They cited the continuing military exchanges in this context.

The Government said here a claymore mine weighing 15 kg was recovered near the Police officers' mess. In Batticaloa, the military said Tiger cadres fired small arms and mortars at an Army detachment. The attack was repulsed, it said. TamilNet said at least nine bombs were dropped on the LTTE controlled Kudarappu in Vadamaradchi East on Wednesday. It quoted residents in the area as saying four Tsunami reconstructed houses were destroyed in the bombardment.

LTTE military spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan questioned Colombo's sincerity to the international community's call to cease violence. "Colombo also dispatched Kfir bombers that bombed civilian targets in Pooneryn yesterday [Tuesday] when Norwegian Special Envoy was in meeting with our Political Head," he told TamilNet.

The LTTE claimed that Mr. Bauer requested cooperation from the LTTE for the SLMM to visit the Muhamalai forward defence lines (FDL) on October 3. The LTTE agreed to give its full cooperation.

It was agreed that the visit would be organised on October 4.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Colombo's response positive
U.S. to upgrade Pakistan's F-16s
China for talks on North Korea
An exciting start in Frankfurt
Caparo vehicle prototype completes trial
Japanese man seeks `pi' memory record
Looking for energy
More relocations
MP in racism row
Senate may take up deal after recess
Indian, Chinese firms top "bribe payers' index"

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu