PM vows new approach with Tigers

by Simon Gardner, COLOMBO, (Reuters) The peace bid with the LTTE needs a fresh approach, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse said yesterday, vowing if elected President to invite his opponents to join forces to negotiate with the LTTE.

Rajapakse, who will face off against Ranil Wickremesinghe in Presidential Elections in November, says converting a 2002 truce into lasting peace after two decades of civil war and pursuing economic development are his top priorities. Rajapakse says consensus is crucial to peace hopes and a return to war is not an option.

"Without consensus in the South, you can't settle this problem," Rajapakse told Reuters in an interview at his official Temple Trees residence. "We have to restart the peace talks."

"The Tigers must realise that we have to satisfy the Sinhalese people in the majority. Without them we can't move forward," he added. "It is the responsibility of all parties. So we will get together ... and we will have a new approach."

Rajapakse said he would consider forming a cross-party coalition with Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP).

Rajapakse says that loopholes in the truce need closing and that aid should be distributed in the North and East.

"I have managed to get the JVP, JHU, SLFP and all the other left parties. Only the UNP is left behind," he said. "So what we must do is we must get the UNP also."

"We will have to discuss how we are going to work, whether we are going to join in Government or whether we are going to be (separate) like this and support the peace process," he added, saying he would let Parliament decide whether a general election should follow the presidential vote.

Rajapakse also wants neighbouring India to be more closely involved in the peace bid.

"Without India we can't have a final solution, that is certain," he said. "Their blessings must also be there."

If elected Rajapakse will seek direct talks with elusive LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran to sound out where the State and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) can compromise and put a permanent end to a war.

"The first thing I will do is discuss this with Prabhakaran himself and have a ... practical approach," Rajapakse said.

"Both parties must come forward to a compromise position...

We'll go for a final solution. Why can't we?"

While Rajapakse has ruled out privatising State entities, he promises an open economy and wants foreign investors to embrace Sri Lanka.

"We want foreign investment, yes, but still we must see that the local businessman, local industrialist, is being given a proper place," he said. "I want to build up our ... small and medium scale entrepreneurs."

"So I will encourage them, give them more and more facilities to build themselves up to where they can compete with foreign investors," he added.