Sri Lanka gov't asks rebels to return to talks

The Sri Lankan government said Tuesday it hoped the Tamil Tigers to return to talks by acting more responsibility although the two sides failed to reach any agreement in their 2-day talks in Geneva.

Rohitha Bogollagama, the minister of Enterprise Development and a member of the government delegation said upon returning to the country that the talks failed because the government was not willing to compromise national security.

The talks deadlocked over a rigid demand by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to open the A9 highway linking the northern Jaffna peninsula and the south.

"The closure of the A9 was in the interest of national security after the LTTE attacked Jaffna's Muhamalai in the middle of August, " Bogollagama said.

He added that the government delegation had told the LTTE and the Norwegian facilitators the conditions prevailing on the ground was not permissible for the government to open the highway.

"We hope the LTTE will return to talks by acting more responsibility in future," Bogollagama stressed.

The rebel sources said the LTTE delegation had cut short a planned visit to Norway and Iceland after the Geneva talks and was due to return to the island late on Tuesday.

The talks collapsed even without agreement to meet in future. The Tigers said the government shutdown of the A9 had led to a severe humanitarian crisis for around 500,000 people living in the Jaffna peninsula.

The breakdown of talks in Geneva has led to the renewed fears of escalation of the military clashes which started with the rebel decision to shut down an irrigation sluice canal late July.

Starting from August the LTTE and the military have engaged in battles in Jaffna causing heavy casualties on both sides.

The Geneva talks came after concerted international pressure on both sides to meet at the negotiating table to put an end to the bloodletting.

Source: Xinhua