'Irreparable damage' in ties with Colombo

S.P. Thamilselvan, the Tamil Tigers' political chief, said the rift between the two sides had been widened by the government's barring of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan from rebel-held areas in the northeast and the unfair distribution of international relief at the expense of the Tamil minority.

"We have reached a stage of irreparable damage in relationships," Thamilselvan told AFP in this northern rebel stronghold.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has been fighting for an independent Tamil homeland since 1972. The conflict between the majority Sinhalese and the Tamils claimed some 60,000 lives before the two sides signed a truce in February 2002.

However, the Norwegian-brokered peace process came to a halt in April 2003 when talks broke down.

"Despite declarations, Colombo did not show its willingness to cooperate or sincerity in aid efforts," Thamilselvan said.

The two sides accuse each other of failing to cooperate in the mammoth operation to house, feed and clothe the almost one million people left homeless in the immediate aftermath of the tsunami, with the Tigers labelling aid to Tamil zones as "scanty and insufficient".

Thamilselvan regretted that Annan had been prevented from visiting guerrilla-held areas during his weekend tour of parts of the island which bore the brunt of the tsunami fury.