Home>News Center>World
             
     

    Sri Lanka, Tamil rebels agree to talks
    (AP)
    Updated: 2005-08-20 09:23

    Sri Lanka's government and Tamil Tiger rebels agreed Friday to meet in coming weeks to review a cease-fire that has been threatened by a rash of killings, including the assassination of the foreign minister, AP reported.

    The meetings will be the first formal sessions between the sides in more than two years.

    Peace negotiations remain stalled, and the prospects for reviving them as uncertain after the Aug. 12 assassination of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar by suspected rebels.

    Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen said Friday the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam had agreed to hold the talks in the coming weeks. The exact timing and venue were still being worked out.

    "We have gone from very dire prospects to promising prospects in a very short time," he told The Associated Press in Oslo, Norway.

    "We made it clear that it was a very critical situation and that positive steps needed to be taken," Helgesen said, adding that the need to review the 3-year-old cease-fire "became more acute because of the killings and counter-killings in recent months."

    A Tiger spokesman confirmed the group had agreed to the talks, and a pro-Tiger Web site said they would take place in Oslo.

    The Tigers began fighting in 1983 for a separate homeland for ethnic Tamils, claiming discrimination by the majority Sinhalese. The conflict killed nearly 65,000 people before the Norway-brokered cease-fire was signed in February 2002.

    While the truce has generally held on this island nation of 19 million, including 3.2 million Tamils, peace talks have stalled over rebel demands for greater autonomy in the areas they control in the north and east.

    The rebels also want the government to disarm paramilitary groups they claim attack them as they pass through government-controlled territory in accordance with the cease-fire agreement. The government denies supporting the paramilitaries.

    In recent months, scores of people have been killed, some in skirmishes along the border between government and rebel territory, while others were killed in what were presumed to be political assassinations.

    The Aug. 12 killing of Kadirgamar by a suspected rebel sniper further heightened tensions. Within hours, President Chandrika Kumaratunga imposed a state of emergency and sent the army to hunt for suspects. But she pledged to respect the cease-fire.

    Parliament on Thursday extended the emergency powers for a month, and Kumaratunga said she wanted to hold direct talks with rebels in an effort to end the spate of political killings.

    The chief of the European team monitoring the cease-fire, Hagrup Haukland, called the news of talks "a positive sign." But he expressed dismay that the "discussions have nothing to do with the resumption of peace talks."

    Haukland said while he did not expect a major overhaul of the cease-fire agreement at the talks, he hoped both sides would agree to greater cooperation and allowing monitors more freedom of movement.

    Jehan Perera, an analyst at the National Peace Council, an independent think tank, said the international community's condemnation of the foreign minister's killing may have prompted the Tigers to change their position.

    "It is very good news under the circumstances," Perera said. "After the assassination, one could have anticipated a rapid downward plunge, even into war."



    Japanese PM launches general election campaign
    Katrina slams US Gulf Coast, oil rigs adrift
    Japan's 6 parties square off in TV debate
     
      Today's Top News     Top World News
     

    President Hu Jintao: Gender equality crucial

     

       
     

    Special grants offered to poor students

     

       
     

    EU takes steps to unblock China textiles

     

       
     

    Farmers sue county for illegal land use

     

       
     

    Search for 123 trapped miners suspended

     

       
     

    Hurricane Katrina rocks New Orleans

     

       
      Bush promises post-storm help for victims
       
      Sharon: Not all settlements in final deal
       
      Hurricane Katrina rocks New Orleans
       
      Sri Lanka PM focuses on ending civil war
       
      Musharraf warns Pakistan Islamic schools
       
      Katrina may cost insurers $25 bln
       
     
      Go to Another Section  
     
     
      Story Tools  
       
      Related Stories  
       
    Tigers agree to review Sri Lanka truce, emergency extended
       
    Norwegian brokers meet top Tamil rebel in London
       
    Suspected Tamil rebels hurl grenade at rivals' office Sri Lanka
       
    Tamil Tiger sniper kills govt soldier in Sri Lanka
      News Talk  
      Are the Republicans exploiting the memory of 9/11?  
    Advertisement
             
    国产亚洲精品a在线无码| 人妻系列AV无码专区| 久久精品中文无码资源站| 久久激情亚洲精品无码?V| 一本本月无码-| 中文字幕Av一区乱码| 无码少妇一区二区三区浪潮AV| 久久精品中文字幕一区| 亚洲国产综合无码一区二区二三区| 成人午夜精品无码区久久| 日韩成人无码中文字幕| 99热门精品一区二区三区无码| 亚洲AV无码码潮喷在线观看| 日韩精品无码免费专区午夜不卡 | 精品久久久无码人妻中文字幕| 人妻无码中文久久久久专区| 亚洲av无码一区二区三区人妖| 国产精品午夜无码AV天美传媒| 无码国产午夜福利片在线观看| 国产亚洲精久久久久久无码77777| 亚洲中文字幕久久精品无码喷水 | 99久久无色码中文字幕人妻| www无码乱伦| 无码国产伦一区二区三区视频| 无码爆乳护士让我爽| 亚洲日韩中文在线精品第一| 中文字幕二区三区| 中文字幕一区二区三区5566| 日韩欧美一区二区不卡中文| 伊人热人久久中文字幕| 久久久久久久人妻无码中文字幕爆| 永久无码精品三区在线4 | 色婷婷综合久久久久中文| 亚洲 日韩经典 中文字幕| 一二三四社区在线中文视频| 日韩精品久久无码人妻中文字幕| 欧美精品中文字幕亚洲专区| 中文字幕在线观看日本| 欧美无乱码久久久免费午夜一区二区三区中文字幕| 中文字幕在线无码一区| 最近最新中文字幕|