Sri Lanka's Tamil Rebels Lay Terms for Peace TalksSri Lanka's separatist Tamil Tiger rebels have laid further conditions for the Norwegian-brokered peace talks with the government.The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels now want an immediate ceasefire of government forces and recognition as representatives of Tamil Eelam (separate Tamil State). In a statement issued over the TamilNet on Tuesday they demanded these conditions to enter negotiations with the government. They also accused the government of deliberately escalating the war by launching a major offensive in Jaffna last week, thereby triggering off the dynamics of a full blown war. The LTTE rebels were responding to a government statement on Sunday that accused them of scuttling the two-year Norwegian peace initiatives. Military spokesman Sanath Karunaratne said on Tuesday night that the operation "Agni Kheela I" (Ball of Fire) had been launched to save heavy loss of life by pre-empting an imminent Tiger rebel attack on government forces. Fierce fighting between government forces and the LTTE rebels erupted in the northern Jaffna peninsula last Wednesday, only hours after the rebels called off their unilateral four-month ceasefire. The four-day battle inflicted heavy casualties on both sides. The LTTE rebels have been fighting against government forces since 1983 for a separatist Tamil homeland in the north and east of the country. The bloody war has claimed over 60,000 lives. |
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