Sattahip(Thailand), Sept 18: The rebel Tamil Tigers said for the first time Wednesday that they were not fighting for a separate state in Sri Lanka.
"We don't operate with a concept of Eelam," said chief Tiger negotiator Anton Balasingham, referring to the separate state the Tigers have been demanding during the past three decades of conflict.
"We operate with a concept of self-determination," he said at the conclusion of peace talks here.
The head of the Sri Lankan delegation G L Peiris welcomed Balasingham's remarks, and confirmed that a separate state was not the goal of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
"These aspirations can be achieved within one country if we set about (the discussions) correctly," he told the press conference.
Peiris said that at this early stage of the peace process the question of decommissioning or demilitarising would not be taken up but that it would be discussed later.
Bureau Report
