Colombo warned against no-war, no-peace policy

Through their proxies in parliament the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) urged |he government to end the stalemate in the peace process and jumpstart talks based on their proposal for self-rule.

The group's proxy, the Tamil National Alliance, said in parliament Tuesday that President Chandrika Kumaratunga should establish the Interim Self-Governing Authority proposed by the guerrillas.

Both sides have been observing an Oslo-brokered truce since February 2002, but direct talks remain suspended since the Tigers withdrew in April last year. Peacebroker Norway's attempts to revive the process have failed so far.

"It is imperative that the present crisis relating to the peace process be brought to an end," Tamil National Alliance legislator R. Sampanthan said.

"It is primarily the duty of the Sri Lankan state to sal~age the process."

His statements came fours days after Kumaratunga said she was ready to set up an interim council for the i{land's embattled northern and eastern regions, but added the Tigers must agree |o discuss a final peace deal.

"No one wants a return to war," Sampanthan told parliament. "A war would only result in immense destruction for everyone..."

But "forces inimical to the peace process are seeking to prolong this 'no war, no peace' situation. They are not concerned about the continuous deprivation and suffering of the Tamil people."

He warned that failure to end the impasse would result in serious political and military consequences.

Norway is due to send special envoy Erik Solheim here next week in a bid to revive the peace talks aimed at ending the three decades of ethnic bloodshed that has claimed more than 60,000 lives.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels have agreed to repay a "huge public debt" raised to finance their war against government forces, a pro-rebel website reported yesterday.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) published the names of 3,000 individuals who will be given back their contributions to the "fund to liberate the soil," the Tamilnet website said.

It said the repayments will be made from September 17 but the amount and manner of repayment were not immediately clear.

The Tigers are known to have raised money from Tamil civilians in the island's embattled northern and eastern regions in the past and continue a practice of "taxation" in regions under their control.

The "Tigers' Finance Division has (already) been paying back its huge public debt in (the northern city of) Jaffna in stages since Colombo signed a truce with Kilinochchi (the headquarters of the LTTE political office) in Febr}ary 2002," the \amilnet said.