Offer more power, we will revive talks: LTTE

The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said they were awaiting a government proposal for an interim administration that would give them political, administrative and financial power.

LTTE's London-based chief negotiator Anton Balasingham told the pro-rebel Tamilnet.com website that he held talks with Norwegian peace broker Erik Solheim on Monday on ending the impasse in peace negotiations with Colombo.

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The LTTE pulled out of talks on April 21 after accusing the government of failure to deliver on promises made at six rounds of talks since September.

Balasingham insisted on the government proposing an interim administrative council that meets their demands before a final peace settlement to a conflict that has claimed over 60,000 lives since 1972.

"If a concrete set of proposals is presented, the LTTE will study the framework and suggest improvements," Balasingham was quoted as saying on Tamilnet.

"Thereafter, the parties could enter into negotiations to formalise and finalise the envisaged interim administration," he said.

"Balasingham also explained to the Norwegian peace envoys the need to redefine the agenda for talks," the Tamilnet said.

"Instead of pursuing guidelines, milestones and road maps for an imaginary solution, the talks should address crucial issues related to the harsh existential realties of the ground situation."

The talks between Solheim and Balasingham came as Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was visiting London for talks with British premier Tony Blair.

Wickremesinghe is also scheduled to hold talks with Norwegian envoys on reviving the peace process.

Even as the Tigers raised prospects of an early end to the talks deadlock, the authorities accused the Tigers of carrying out another killing of a rival Tamil in the eastern district of Amapara on Monday evening.

A member of the Eelam people's revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) was gunned down Monday evening at Ampara, hours after the Tigers shot dead a police intelligence officer near the capital Colombo.

Ten days ago, the EPRLF's number two man was shot dead by the LTTE in the northern peninsula of Jaffna.

The authorities have accused the Tigers of killing over 30 rivals and informants since a truce went into effect on February 23 last year.

AFP adds: Sri Lankan police Tuesday intensified investigations into Tamil Tiger hit squads a day after the rebels were accused of killing a top intelligence officer and a rival politician, officials said.

Detectives were questioning the man who allegedly killed inspector Sunil Thabrew at a police station just outside the capital Monday, officials said adding that they feared there could be more Tiger hit men in the capital.

Police believe that Monday's killing at Dehiwala was the work of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), despite a truce that has been in place between the rebels and the government since February 23 last year.

They were also believed to be behind the shooting of a Tamil politician in the east of the island on Monday evening, police said.