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Tamil Tigers warn Lankan Govt not to take up arms again
Colombo, Apr 20: Tamil Tiger rebels are warning Sri Lanka`s new hard-line Government against resorting to a `military solution` to end the country`s two-decade civil war, saying a resumption in peace talks is the only way forward.
Colombo, Apr 20: Tamil Tiger rebels are warning Sri Lanka's new hard-line Government against resorting to a 'military solution' to end the country's two-decade civil war, saying a resumption in peace talks is the only way forward.
Top LTTE leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran has made it clear that the Government "cannot entertain any thought of finding a military solution to the Tamil national question," the TamilNet Website quoted LTTE political chief SP Thamilselvan as saying.
"The leader has shown that it is only by talking to the Tamil people or the Tamil nation that the (Government) can come to an agreement," he added. President Chandrika Kumaratunga's political alliance, which won the largest number of seats in the 225-member Parliament in April 2 polls, has stressed that it wants to revive the stalled peace process as soon as possible.
However, Kumaratunga, who survived a 1999 Tiger assassination attempt, has taken a more hard-line stance toward the rebels than former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who negotiated a 2002 cease-fire with the rebels but whose party was defeated in the latest elections.
The president accused him of making too many concessions in peace talks with the rebels, which have been on hold for a year. Since the Tigers launched their separatist insurgency in 1983, successive Governments have failed to defeat them.
The rebels, who accuse the majority Sinhalese of discrimination, are notoriously fierce and ruthless fighters.
Thamilselvan's comments came as a group of Tamil lawmakers headed to the rebel-held town of Kilinochchi to hold talks with the Tiger political chief on the troubled peace process, as squabbling within the new Government threatens to derail peace efforts.
Kumaratunga's alliance of two parties has become embroiled in a dispute with a junior coalition partner that has slowed attempts to appoint a full Cabinet. Bureau Report
"The leader has shown that it is only by talking to the Tamil people or the Tamil nation that the (Government) can come to an agreement," he added. President Chandrika Kumaratunga's political alliance, which won the largest number of seats in the 225-member Parliament in April 2 polls, has stressed that it wants to revive the stalled peace process as soon as possible.
However, Kumaratunga, who survived a 1999 Tiger assassination attempt, has taken a more hard-line stance toward the rebels than former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who negotiated a 2002 cease-fire with the rebels but whose party was defeated in the latest elections.
The president accused him of making too many concessions in peace talks with the rebels, which have been on hold for a year. Since the Tigers launched their separatist insurgency in 1983, successive Governments have failed to defeat them.
The rebels, who accuse the majority Sinhalese of discrimination, are notoriously fierce and ruthless fighters.
Thamilselvan's comments came as a group of Tamil lawmakers headed to the rebel-held town of Kilinochchi to hold talks with the Tiger political chief on the troubled peace process, as squabbling within the new Government threatens to derail peace efforts.
Kumaratunga's alliance of two parties has become embroiled in a dispute with a junior coalition partner that has slowed attempts to appoint a full Cabinet. Bureau Report