Sri Lankan Muslim Leader Wants Representation in Peace Talks

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, June 10, 2002

Sri Lankan Muslim Leader Wants Representation in Peace Talks

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The leader of Sri Lanka's main Muslim party Rauf Hakeem said Sunday that he needed Muslim representation in the proposed peace talks between the government and separatist Tamil Tiger rebels to be held in Thailand.

"I hope the government and the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of TamilEelam) would agree to have Muslim representation in the talks," Hakeem said upon his return to capital Colombo after he talked with the rebels in the rebel-held Wanni region in the north of thecountry on Saturday.

Hakeem, leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress,is also a minister in the government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

He had a historic one to one meeting with the LTTE rebel leaderVelupillai Prabhakaran in April.

With the LTTE rebels and the government entering a ceasefire agreement in February, Hakeem complained of alleged harassment of Muslims by the rebels in the east of the country where Muslims dominate.

The meeting between Hakeem and Prabhakaran which followed in April cleared the way for a situation of reconciliation between the rebels and the Muslims.The LTTE rebels have agreed to allow dispelled Muslims to return to their homes in the east of the country.

The Norwegian-brokered peace talks aimed at ending the country's nearly two decades of ethnic conflict that has claimed over 64,000 lives are to take place in Thailand at the end of this month or early July.

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