Colombo, Nov 03: Sri Lankan government was maintaining informal contacts with Tamil Tiger rebels even as peace broker Norway prepared to revive face-to-face talks, officials here said today. Four Sri Lankan ministers had direct talks with a senior Tamil Tiger leader in northern Sri Lanka yesterday, a day after the guerrillas publicly unveiled their landmark power-sharing plan, officials said.
The four ministers held discussions with a rebel identified only as Poovanan, a government official said while correcting an earlier report that the meeting was with S. Pulithevan, the head of the Tiger Peace Secretariat.
"They discussed matters arising from the peace process and in relation to commercial and trade aspects," an official said, but declined to give details.
However, the four ministers have scheduled a press conference tomorrow to discuss their visit.
Trade Minister Ravi Karunanayake, Lands Minister Rajitha Senaratne, Agricultural Minister S. B. Dissanayake and Rural Economy Minister Bandula Gunawardena had three hours of talks with the Tigers, officials said.
The four ministers are not directly involved in the peace process, but the closed-door talks came a day after the LTTE unveiled their first ever blueprint for a power-sharing plan with the Colombo government.
Officials said the substance of the LTTE's proposals were not discussed at the meeting as it was left in the hands of peace negotiators on both sides and was to be conducted through Norwegian facilitation. Bureau Report