Colombo, July 29: Sri Lanka President Chandrika Kumaratunga's emerging ally, the Marxist JVP, today flatly rejected the government's offer of an interim administration to Tamil Tiger rebels. The JVP, or people's liberation front, which is in talks with president Kumaratunga to forge an alliance to eventually topple Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, said they opposed the government's power-sharing deal. The JVP said they will organised public rallies on Augsut 6 to protest government plans to establish an interim administrative council for the embattled northern and eastern regions of the island. "We are totally against an interim administration," JVP spokesman Tilvin Silva said. "This is only another step towards dividing the country and giving a separate state to the Tigers. This is an interim state administration." The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) withdrew from peace talks with the government on April 21 after accusing it of failing to honour promises and made the establishment of an interim council a pre-condition to resume negotiations.

The JVP said it believed that the tigers were demanding an interim administration to strengthen themselves politically, economically and militarily ahead of establising a separate state called Eelam.


Bureau Report