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Tigers demand overhaul of Norway's peace bid

AFP, Colombo
Tigers demand overhaul of Norway's peace bid
Tamil Tiger rebels Friday demanded a "radical overhaul" of Norway's peace bid in Sri Lanka and rejected the government's latest offer to save the faltering process.
The Tamil Tigers declined Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's offer to discuss an "interim administrative council" and said they will only join talks when the government unveils a "practical conceptual framework".
The Tigers' London-based chief peace negotiator, Anton Balasingham, said the rebels were also looking for a "new agenda" for the peace process, which has included six rounds of face-to-face negotiations.
"We will insist on a radical overhaul of the entire peace process," Balasingham said in remarks to the pro-rebel Tamilnet.com website and sent to media organisations here.
"We want a new, redefined agenda. We will discuss this matter with the Norwegian (peace) facilitators."
There was no immediate reaction from the peace broker Norway to the Tigers' call to re-do the negotiations. It was not clear what exact changes the Tigers contemplated in the peace process.
Talks had been held between the two delegations with four members on each side with Norway sitting in as a "facilitator".
The latest rejection came after Wickremesinghe in an address to the nation Thursday said the government hoped to establish an interim administrative council, conceding a key Tiger demand for starting talks.
The negotiations have remained deadlocked since April following the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) demand of an interim council with political powers ahead of a final settlement to the conflict that has claimed
more than 60,000 lives since 1972.
In his Sinhalese-language speech, Wickremesinghe said his government was committed to opening negotiations with the Tigers on the proposed council and hoped the Tigers would return to talks.
"To resolve the present crisis and enter peace talks is the responsibility of the LTTE," Wickremesinghe said. "I am confident they will honour their responsibility."
Wickremesinghe said he wanted the LTTE to actively participate in reconstruction and rehabilitation work in the northern and eastern regions.
"We expect a responsible and active participation from the LTTE. For this purpose we hope to establish an interim administrative council with the participation of the LTTE," he said.
The main opposition People's Alliance of President Chandrika Kumaratunga, who is highly critical of Wickremesinghe's handling of the peace process, said the government had no strategy in its dealings with the Tigers.
"The government really does not have a policy," People's Alliance spokesman Sarath Amunugama said.
The opposition party is opposed to the granting of an interim administrative council to the Tigers ahead of a final peace deal.
The government suggested Monday that the Tigers take part in finalising the scope and the composition of a proposed council in which the rebels would play a dominant role.