'Truce in SL not possible without involvement of LTTE'

Amid a demand by political parties that Sri Lanka should revive the ceasefire and end its military offensive, Tamil Nadu CM said a permanent truce can only emerge after negotiations between Colombo and the Tamil tigers.

Amid a demand by political parties that Sri Lanka should revive the ceasefire and end its military offensive against the LTTE, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Friday said a permanent truce can only emerge after negotiations between Colombo and the Tamil tigers.

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The DMK chief said that he was at a loss to understand the rationale behind the demand for a ceasefire in the island nation without the involvement of LTTE.

"A permanent ceasefire could emerge only through negotiations by both Sri Lanka government and LTTE, which is acceptable to all neutral countries including India," he wrote in his party's mouth piece 'Murasoli'.

"We all in Tamil Nadu were asking the Centre to take steps for a ceasefire. I don't know whether it is possible to ask one side for a ceasefire without knowing the position of both parties," he said.

The Sri Lankan government had scrapped a tattered 2002 ceasefire in January this year after which it launched a major military offensive in the rebel held northern areas.

While pointing out that there were contradictory stands on LTTE among political parties in the state, Karunanidhi said that his party's stand towards the banned organisation should be viewed in two phases -- before and after the Rajiv Gandhi assassination.