| A Japanese envoy yesterday failed to convince Tamil Tiger rebels to start immediate peace talks with the Sri Lankan government, as the military announced the seizure of a stockpile of arms and explosives in the rebels’ northern stronghold. Peace envoy Yasushi Akashi met with S.P. Thamilselvan, the head of the political wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, in an effort to stave off a renewed civil war in the island nation. But he failed to convince the separatist Tamil Tigers. “We have explained to the Japanese delegation that we will not be in a position to attend talks until the killings cease and our commanders are given safer transport for the meeting,” Thamilselvan told reporters in Kilinochchi, 275 km north of Colombo after the meeting. “We have explained to them that there is no cease-fire environment here, the military has disrupted normal civilian life and is getting ready for an all-out war,” Thamilselvan said. |