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Sri Lanka Eases Embargo Imposed on Tamil Rebel-held Area
Sri Lanka has eased sanctions on areas held by separatist Tamil Tiger rebels aimed at boosting Norway's bid to broker peace in the war-torn country, officials said Friday.
The government has removed more than 25 commodities from a list of banned items which were not allowed to be transported to territories held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the north of the country.
Military sources said they have allowed food and medical supplies, agricultural appliances, alcohol and cigarettes into rebel-held areas from this week.
Meanwhile, the Norwegian ambassador to Sri Lanka, Jon Westborg, travelled to Wanni, the headquarters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for talks with rebel leaders.
Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar announced earlier this week that the government was considering a package of humanitarian measures to allow commodities to flow to Wanni area.
He said this is not a precondition for talks with the LTTE rebels.
The LTTE has extended their unilateral ceasefire by one month till April 24 and warned that they would break it if the government wound not respond positively. Their ceasefire began on Christmas Eve last year.
The government has maintained that a reciprocal ceasefire is possible only after talks between the two sides made substantive progress.
The LTTE rebels have been fighting against government forces since 1983 in the north and east of the country for a separate Tamil state. So far more than 60,000 people have been killed in the bloody war.
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