Sri Lankan Peace Talks Start in Thai Naval Base

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, September 16, 2002

Sri Lankan Peace Talks Start in Thai Naval Base

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Negotiators from Sri Lanka's government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE),a rebellious group of that country, kicked off their historic peace talks Monday in Thai naval base of Sattahip.

Sri Lanka's constitutional affairs minister G.L. Peiris and LTTE top negotiator Anton Balsingham each led a four-member team in the talks, which began in the Sattahip base of Chon Buri Province, 250 km southeast of Bangkok.

The two sides held a joint press conference in a resort hotel near the naval base before the talks.

The talks, which will last till Sept. 18 at a secret venue inside the naval base, are only attended by the negotiators and their Norwegian brokers.

The event is the first direct negotiation between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE rebels in seven years, aimed to set an agenda for future rounds of talks and holding high hopes of beginning a process to end one of Asia's longest civil wars that has killed 64,500 people and displaced 1.8 million others since 1983 in that small island country of South Asia.

The move follows a cease-fire deal between the two sides in February. The LTTE has been fighting for an ethnic minority Tamil state in Sri Lanka's north and east during past 19 years.

A joint statement is expected to be issued upon the conclusion of the talks on Sept. 18.

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