LTTE insists talks only on ceasefire agreement

By Chris Kamalendran

The LTTE reiterated yesterday that the 2002 Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) must be the basis for any future talks with the Sri Lankan government.

The LTTE’s position would be conveyed to the visiting Norwegian Ambassador Hans Brattskar tomorrow when he meets with the political wing leader S.P. Thamilselvan in Kilinochchi, the organisation’s military spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan told The Sunday Times.

He said though the government was declaring its readiness for talks, the LTTE saw no genuine effort to resume the peace process as the military onslaught was continuing in the northern and eastern provinces.

“The doors have not been closed for talks. Our position is very clear we are ready to start talks at any time, but it has to be in accordance with the Ceasefire Agreement,” he said.

On Friday the Norwegian Ambassador met with head of the Government’s peace delegation and Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva for talks on the current situation. “The government’s position is that talks should be based on devolution or core issues and without focusing on peripheral issues,” Mr. de Silva told The Sunday Times.

The LTTE’s demand that the resumption of talks should be based on the CFA comes after Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa told a foreign news agency “there is no ceasefire agreement. There is no meaning in that”. He said the government had not officially declared that there was no CFA, “probably to keep the international community happy”.

Mr. de Silva defending Mr. Rajapaksa’s comments said, “practically there is no ceasefire”.

“How can we say that there is a cease-fire when the LTTE is coming and attacking the air force base adjoining the international airport? This very clearly shows the LTTE’s duplicity,” he said.

Talks between the LTTE and the government abruptly ended in September last year in Switzerland as the LTTE demanded the reopening of the A 9 road which was shut down in August.

On Friday Pope Benedict XVI called on President Mahinda Rajapaksa to resume peace talks as early as possible. He made the appeal when the President called on the Pope during a four-day visit to Italy.