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| Monday, 12 April 2004 |
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Early peace talks planned, Lanka tells US President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga told US Secretary of State Colin Powell she will move to restart peace talks with the Tamil Tiger rebels after this week's New Year Holidays, one of her aides said on Friday. In a telephone conversation with Powell, President Kumaratunga also said the Sri Lankan military would stay out of a split in the Tigers, which mushroomed into fighting earlier on Friday, and that the split would not stand in the way of resuming talks. "She told Mr Powell that work would begin on the peace talks once the Cabinet is sworn in and as soon as the Sinhala and Tamil New Year is over," the Presidential spokesman told Reuters. The New Year holiday is on Monday and Tuesday, although many businesses will be shut and activity across the island will be slower for the week. The Presidential spokesman said Powell initiated the call to congratulate Kumaratunga after her United People's Freedom Alliance party won last week's parliamentary election. Talks with the Tigers have been on hold for one year. Kumaratunga told Powell in the 20-minute call that when talks do start, they would be with the main part of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). It is still not known what impact the split in the LTTE will have on the peace process, with eight fighters and one civilian reported killed after clashes on Friday between the rival factions of the rebels in eastern Sri Lanka. It was the worst fighting since a truce halted the island's civil war. (Reuters) |
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