Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels Saturday ruled out entering Norwegian-backed peace talks unless the Sri Lankan government lifted a ban on them, lifted sanctions and reciprocated a truce.
The separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said they made it clear to the Norwegian ambassador in Sri Lanka Jon Westborg in talks Saturday that they will not come for talks as an outlawed organisation.
The LTTE in a statement said that the easing of economic sanctions by the Sri Lankan government was insufficient and they wanted the authorities to allow cement and fuel to areas held by them in the island's north-east.
The Tiger rebels also wanted to be recognised as a "preponderant representative organisation" of Sri Lanka's minority Tamil community, the Tigers said adding that they urged Westborg to convince Colombo.
Westborg, who crossed army lines and travelled to the Wanni stronghold of the LTTE on Friday stayed on for a second round of talks Saturday with LTTE's political wing leader, Thamil Chelvam.
Sri Lankan officials said Westborg's visit to Tiger territory came as the government removed more than 25 commodities from a list of banned items that could not be taken to "un-cleared" areas.
The vast Wanni region, about 260 kilometres (160 miles) north of Colombo, is known as "un-cleared," an official euphemism for territory held by Tamil Tigers who are demanding a homeland in the northeast for minority Tamils.
However, the LTTE told Westborg that the easing of the embargo fell short of their expectations.
"Expressing his dismay over the Sri Lanka government's determination to restrict the flow of these essential items vital for the economic life of the Tamil people, Mr. Tamil Chelvam urged the Norwegian envoy to persuade Sri Lanka to allow the fuel and cement to satisfy the requirements of the war affected civilian masses – COLOMBO (AFP)
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