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LTTE offers pre-condition talks; Govt says lay down arms first
After being pushed to a small strip of land, the beleaguered LTTE has offered fresh talks without pre-conditions but the Sri Lankan government snubbed the proposal, asking the Tamil Tigers to lay down arms first.
After being pushed to a small strip of land, the beleaguered LTTE has offered fresh talks without pre-conditions but the Sri Lankan government snubbed the proposal, asking the Tamil Tigers to lay down arms first.
Balasingham Nadesan, the political head of the rebels, has again called for an urgent ceasefire, saying the Tigers would enter negotiations with the government "without pre-conditions", The Sunday Times reported on Sunday.
"We call for a ceasefire, loudly and clearly," he told the newspaper in an interview.
"Continuous denial of humanitarian access to the civilian population, and non-stop artillery and aerial attacks, are creating an unbearable situation," Nadesan said.
The daily bombing and shelling was described by Nadesan as "geno-cidal warfare".
The government, however, said it has received no such proposal till now and stick to its position that it was committed to eliminate terrorism from the country and ending the 25-year-old protracted conflict.
"We have not got any specific details of Nadesan's interview (to the Sunday Times of Britain) and our stated policy has been the LTTE should lay down arms before coming for negotiations," a senior Sri Lankan official told PTI.
After suffering heavy defeat and casualties, the LTTE in recent months has called for ceasefire on several occasion but the government rejected every time.
