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Sri Lankan Rebels Call for Immediate Truce Talks
 The political leader of the Tamil Tiger rebels has called for immediate talks with Sri Lankaâs government to save a shaky cease-fire. Tamil Tiger political chief S.P. Tamilselvan said the rebel group was ready âeven in the next minuteâ to begin talks with the government. The truce agreed in 2002 has come under fresh strains since the assassination of the countryâs foreign minister last month in an attack blamed by the government on Tamil rebels. âWe are anxious to start the talks immediately... even in the next minute,â Tamilselvan said in an interview at his political headquarters, 330 kilometers (204 miles) north of the capital Colombo, on Friday night.Peace broker Norway has sought talks between the two sides in the wake of the assassination of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, which has stoked fears of a return to civil war in the Indian Ocean island nation. Tamilselvan denied that the Tigers carried out the Aug. 12 murder of Kadirgamar, an ethnic Tamil who was a fierce critic of the rebels, saying they had ânothing to gain by killing anyone.â He said the rebels had suggested an overseas venue for any future talks to safeguard the cease-fire. The Tigers earlier turned down the international airport as a possible neutral venue. Colombo has insisted that any discussions take place in Sri Lanka but the two sides have so far been unable to agree on a location. Posted by: Fred 2005-09-18 |
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