Nakhon Pathom (Thailand), Oct 31: Minority Muslims who hold the balance of power in Sri Lanka will press at peace talks opening here today for an end to Tamil tiger attacks against them, a top Muslim negotiator said. The second round of Norwegian-backed peace talks are being held at this Thai river-side resort against a backdrop of growing unrest within the Muslim community which is threatening to bring down the Sri Lankan government.
The Muslim negotiator, Rauf Hakeem, was the last of the four-member Sri Lankan delegation to arrive here today after an 11th hour meeting with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to discuss his concerns. Hakeem, a minister in the Sri Lankan government, is a negotiator at the Oslo-brokered peace talks with the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), but a separate Muslim delegation is yet to be allowed in.
"We want the talks here (in Thailand) to come up with confidence-building measures regarding the security... and issues relating to the LTTE administration creeping into Muslim-dominated areas," Hakeem told.
Initially there were doubts over his participation at the talks scheduled to open at 1330 hours IST (0800 GMT), and conclude on Sunday with a press conference. Hakeem said the politburo of his Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) which provides crucial support for the survival of the Colombo administration, wanted a separate Muslim negotiating team included in future talks. Bureau Report