Colombo, June 04: Tamil Tiger rebels today formally rejected Sri Lanka's latest offer of talks to end the deadlock in the Norwegian-backed peace process and insisted on political authority ahead of a final settlement. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said there was no change in their stance despite a letter from Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on sunday calling for a dialogue on the rebel demands. The LTTE's London-based chief negotiator, Anton Balasingham, said they were, however, willing to resume negotiations only if the government agreed to an "interim administrative structure" proposed by them.
In a letter to Wickremesinghe released to the media here, Balasingham said it was up to the government to define the powers and the composition of a political authority for the embattled region. "We wish to assure you that we are prepared to resume negotiations if you reconsider your position and offer us, for our consideration, a draft framework for an interim administrative structure along the lines proposed by our leadership".

"We hope that you will consider our suggestion favourably", Balasingham said.

The Tigers announced April 21 that they would abandon peace talks after accusing the government of failing to deliver on promises made at six rounds of talks since September last year.

Bureau report