Kuala Lumpur, Sept 10: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe today played down fears over Sri Lanka's stalled peace process as he sought deeper trade links with the rest of Asia. Wrapping up a two-day visit here, Wickremesinghe assured businessmen at a luncheon dialogue that the withdrawal of Tamil Tiger rebels from peace talks in April was "temporary" and that a ceasefire observed since February last year under a Norwegian-brokered truce was still on.

"They are not resorting to armed conflict and they are committed to finding a peaceful solution. We have no reason to disbelieve that," he said. The government was confident talks could be revived, but he reiterated that he expected negotiations to be tough because the outcome would "determine the pattern of the political system".

He noted that Norwegian and Japanese envoys were due in Colombo this month to help jumpstart the peace process, aimed at ending three decades of ethnic bloodshed that has claimed more than 60,000 lives. "The next round (of talks), when it begins, will go on for some time. It is going to be a crucial round and there will be hard bargaining on our side," he said.

As a trade-dependent nation, Wickremesinghe said Sri Lanka wanted closer ties with the region because a failure in World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks which began today in Cancun, Mexico, would have "tremendous repercussions" on its economy.

Bureau Report