Sri Lankan Government Rejects Tamil Offer for Peace Talks

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, November 30, 2001

Sri Lankan Government Rejects Tamil Offer for Peace Talks

The Sri Lankan government rejected separatist Tamil Tiger rebel's offer for peace talks to bring an end to the country's 18-year ethnic war on Thursday by dismissing it as hollow and a ploy to fool the international community to get the ban on them lifted.

Urban Development Minister Mangala Samaraweera said the government would not lift the ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) although rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran said in his annual Heroes Day speech that he was not fighting for a separate state for Tamil minority.

He said that the Tamil rebel leader is trying to fool the international community to lift the ban on them.

Samaraweera said the government remained committed to the peace process and was willing to settle the ethnic conflict through negotiation with the rebels.

Prabhakaran said in his speech on Tuesday that he wants a settlement to the ethnic war by peaceful means but the ban on them must be lifted before talks can start.

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