Colombo, Nov 15: Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga has softened her stance on Tamil Tigers and said the rebels had "changed quite a bit" and were behaving "responsibly" even as the peace process was in limbo. The President said there had been many "positive aspects" during the Norwegian-led peace process in the past two years despite her criticism of the peace brokers as well as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). "They (the LTTE) have stopped killing, which is already very good," Kumaratunga said in an interview published today in the Financial Times of London. "I am not saying they haven't changed. They have already changed quite a bit," she said.

Norway yesterday suspended its peace efforts and said they will "go home and wait" till President Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe resolve their differences and there was "clarity" as to who was in control.
Asked if the squabbling between the two main Sinhalese leaders in the country would not help the Tamil Tigers she said, "Probably. But I must say that for the moment they are conducting themselves responsibly."

Bureau Report