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Sri Lankan Tamil Rebels Reject Government Truce Offer
Sri Lanka's separatist Tamil Tiger rebels rejected on Thursday government's truce offer as "a calculated political duplicity to divert the attention of the people and the world from the deepening crisis " in the country.
Anton Balasingham, the chief negotiator and political advisor of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) told TamilNet that the rebels are not prepared to enter into negotiation with "a corrupt, inefficient, unstable government" which does not have a majority in Parliament.
"As far as the LTTE is concerned, it is a ploy, an act of calculated political duplicity to divert the attention of the people and the world from the deepening crisis in Colombo," he said.
"By this tactic, President Kumaratunga is hoping to split the Tamil parties from the joint opposition," he added.
He also accused the government of consistently opposing peace moves because of President Chandrika Kumaratunga's "misguided policy of militarism and conquest of Tamil lands."
Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar announced on Wednesday plans to offer "mutually agreed ceasefire" with LTTE rebels in a bid to revive Norwegian-brokered peace process in the war-torn country.
He told reporters that the government was considering inviting rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to enter negotiations but he could not say when this could be done.
The LTTE rebels declared a four-month unilateral ceasefire since last December and asked the government to reciprocate.
The government insisted that a ceasefire is possible only after substantive progress is made on the talks.
Peace process in the country has been deadlocked over issue of lifting ban on the LTTE rebels, a key demand which they said must be met before they could enter peace talks. The government has rejected the demand as "unreasonable".
The LTTE rebels have been fighting against government forces in the north and east of the country since 1983 for an independent Tamil homeland. The bloody war has killed more than 64,000 people.
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