Sri Lankan separatist Tamil Tiger rebels have demanded a third-party mediation in the upcoming talkswith the government in Thailand.
In a statement issued from the rebel headquarters in Wanni in the north of the country the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels said this was one of the demands they would make before peace talks start, local media reports said on Sunday.
The LTTE declaration came as the rebels reiterated their position that talks cannot commence unless the ban on them is lifted by the government.
The LTTE rebels did not name the mediator they want for peace talks but Norway has been acting officially as a "facilitator" forpeace in the country in the past three years.
The government and the LTTE rebels are expected to hold peace talks in Thailand in June. Both sides are observing an indefinite ceasefire in terms of an agreement signed in February this year.