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Sri Lanka says no truce ahead of future peace talks
TOKYO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka’s
government is unwilling to observe a truce ahead of any peace talks
with Tamil Tiger rebels, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said
on Tuesday.
There would be no point when previous ceasefires had been heavily
breached by the rebels, the minister told a Tokyo news conference.
“We’re always maintaining our position that we are ready
to talk with the LTTE ... if they wish to indulge in a more reasonable
approach,” Bogollagama said.
The foreign minister and his president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, were
in Tokyo for meetings with the Japanese government, a major donor
to the war-torn country who this week offered to send a mediator
to help get peace talks back on track.
Nearly 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict between the
government and Tamil Tiger rebels, who seek an independent state
in the north and east of the country. Fighting has intensified in
recent months.
While the government has fared better than most expected in major
ground fighting, few expect the military to be able to eradicate
the rebels from the jungle.
Prospects for peace talks in the near future waned in November when
the rebels’ political wing leader and chief negotiator was
killed in a government air strike.
Bogollagama said a cross-party committee was close to announcing
a new plan to devolve power to Tamils and try to resolve the conflict.
Human rights organizations including Amnesty International criticized
both rebels and government this month.
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