Colombo, May 14: Sri Lanka's president today appointed a former senior UN official to spearhead her government's efforts to strike a peace deal with Tamil Tiger rebels. Jayantha Dhanapala, who was a UN Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament from 1998 to 2003, will take control of the secretariat for coordinating the peace process from June 1, President Chandrika Kumaratunga's office said in a statement.
The announcement came a day after the rebels announced that a deal had been reached with the government to restart peace talks that have been stalled for a year.

The agreement came amid sporadic violence that has stoked fears a two-year-old truce could collapse and the country plunged back into the civil war that cost about 65,000 lives between 1983 and 2002.

Dhanapala, a member of Sri Lanka's Buddhist Sinhalese majority, has also worked as his nation's ambassador in Geneva and Washington.
Meanwhile, top insurgent negotiator Anton Balasingham flew from the rebel-held north to the capital Colombo today before returning to London where he lives on Saturday, officials said.
Bureau Report