BBC News, Saturday, 7 April, 2001, 16:24 GMT 17:24 UK:
Tigers seek legal status
The government wants an end to the Tigers' violence
By Frances Harrison in Colombo
Tamil Tiger rebels fighting the Sri Lankan government have said
they must be legalised as an organisation before they can take part in
peace talks.
In a statement issued by the head of the rebels political wing,
S P Tamilchelvan, the Tigers also said it was absolutely essential for
both sides to stop fighting before negotiations could start.
In a two-page statement issued from their headquarters in
rebel-controlled northern Sri Lanka, the Tamil Tigers say quite
categorically that they will not participate in peace talks as an
outlawed outfit.
They say lifting the current ban on their organisation and
reciprocating their unilateral cease-fire are essential prerequisites
for any negotiations.
Marathon talks
It is so unthinkable that Sri Lanka would concede this
demand that it raises the possibility that the Tigers are in effect
pulling out of the peace process by insisting on something they know
they will never get
The statement from the Tigers follows what they call marathon
discussions between Mr Tamilchelvan and the Norwegian ambassador to
Colombo, Jon Westborg, which took place in rebel territory.
All along, the Tigers have been saying that they cannot talk
peace while still waging war.
But the sudden insistence that the Sri Lankan government
legalise the Tamil Tigers before talks start has puzzled political
commentators.
Sri Lanka has expended huge diplomatic efforts recently on
lobbying other countries to ban the Tigers so it would be bizarre if
it suddenly lifted its own ban on the rebel organisation.
In fact, it is so unthinkable that Sri Lanka would concede this
demand that it raises the possibility that the Tigers are in effect
pulling out of the peace process by insisting on something they know
they will never get.
The only other possibility is that the Tigers are over-stating
their demands but are willing to settle for less.
But the wording of their statement appears to leave little room
for manoeuvre.
There has been no definitive response from the Sri Lankan
government yet.
But the minister for justice, Batty Weerakoon, has called the
latest statement a complete reversal of the Tigers earlier approach.
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