Sri Lanka Says De-banning of Tamil Rebels After Date Fixed for Talks

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, May 30, 2002

Sri Lanka Says De-banning of Tamil Rebels After Date Fixed for Talks

Sri Lanka announced Thursday that de-banning of separatist Tamil Tiger rebels will only be made whena date is fixed for the proposed peace talks brokered by the Norwegian peace facilitators.

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Sri Lanka announced Thursday that de-banning of separatist Tamil Tiger rebels will only be made whena date is fixed for the proposed peace talks brokered by the Norwegian peace facilitators.

"The government's view is that the de-proscription is a matter in respect of which some action can be taken when there is a clearagreement about a firm date on which the talks would commence in Thailand," government spokesman and Constitutional Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris told reporters.

Peiris said that the two sides assisted by Norway are currentlyin the process of arranging dates for talks which are likely to beheld at the end of June or early July.

He said the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE) rebels had raised the question of full implementation of the cessation of hostilities agreement signed between the two parties in February.

The LTTE rebels insist that the government should lift the ban slapped on them in 1998 as a pre-condition for entering the talks brokered by Norway.

Peiris added that the Norwegian facilitators felt that the quality of the agenda for talks was of paramount importance.

"We agree with the Norwegian facilitators that there should be no haste, there should be thorough and meticulous arrangements," Peiris said.

He said that the government delegation for Thailand talks wouldcomprise of 4 members, three of them will be permanent while the 4th will be a revolving slot depending on particular issues to be taken up on a given occasion.

The Norwegian-brokered peace talks are aimed at ending the nearly two decade of ethnic conflict in the north and east of the country that has claimed over 64,000 lives since 1983.

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