Colombo, June 24: Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels today said the deadlocked peace talks could be revived soon if the government offered them greater political power. The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said they were awaiting a government proposal for an interim administration that would give them political, administrative and financial power.
LTTE's London-based chief negotiator Anton Balasingham told the pro-rebel tamilnet.com website that he held talks with Norwegian peace broker Erik Solheim yesterday on ending the impasse in peace negotiations with Colombo.
The LTTE pulled out of talks on April 21 after accusing the government of failure to deliver on promises made at six rounds of talks since September.
Balasingham insisted on the government proposing an interim administrative council that meets their demands before a final peace settlement to a conflict that has claimed over 60,000 lives since 1972.
"If a concrete set of proposals is presented, the LTTE will study the framework and suggest improvements," Balasingham was quoted as saying in the tamilnet.
"Thereafter, the parties could enter into negotiations to formalise and finalise the envisaged interim administration," he said. Bureau Report