International

LTTE issue: Guarded welcome by U.S.

By Nirupama Subramanian

COLOMBO April 12. The United States said today it welcomed the LTTE's willingness to work within a political process for a negotiated settlement to Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict but urged the group to renounce violence "unequivocally''.

``We are encouraged by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's willingness to work within a political process. We have long believed that violence cannot achieve the Tigers' stated objectives and urged Prabakaran to abandon its use unequivocally,'' the U.S. Embassy said here in a statement on the press conference of the LTTE leader, Velupillai Prabakaran, earlier this week.

Mr. Prabakaran told journalists during his press conference on Wednesday that he would renounce his armed struggle and the violent methods for which he had earned a reputation as a ruthless guerilla when the LTTE demands were met.

``When a permanent solution is reached, we will not only bring an end to all forms of violence, but we will also consider removing the cyanide capsules that our cadres wear.''

Asked whether he would give up his trademark suicide attacks, he said: "We have gone into a peace process now, so there is no need for me to comment on suicide bombings.''

He denied that the LTTE had been forced into peace talks because of the U.S.-led global war on terrorism and said he had initiated peace moves nearly a year before that.

``We are not a terrorist group, we are a people's liberation organisation fighting for the rights of our people. We expect the world to make a distinction between the two,'' he said.

The guardedly-worded U.S. statement urged both parties to continue working towards the goal of a political solution to the conflict which maintains Sri Lanka's territorial integrity, and also welcomed the LTTE's acknowledgement that the problem of Sri Lanka's Muslims should be resolved alongside those of the Tamil people.

The U.S. said it supported Norway's efforts to facilitate a settlement to the ethnic conflict.

The Norwegian deputy foreign minister, Vidar Helgesen, is scheduled to arrive here tomorrow for consultations with the Government.

He is also expected to travel to northern Sri Lanka for a meeting with the LTTE leadership.

Following remarks by the LTTE political advisor, Anton Balasingham, at the press conference that the group would be ready to give up its demand for a separate Tamil state if presented with a formula of self-rule that embodied its right to self-determination homeland and recognised the Tamils as a distinct nation, the Government said it was prepared to offer such a solution.

Meanwhile, 14 Tamil parliamentarians from the pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance (TNA) travelled to northern Sri Lanka on a summons from Mr. Prabakaran for a meeting with him, which was expected to take place today.

Mr. Balasingham said the purpose of the meeting was to discipline the parliamentarians who had used the LTTE name to get elected and were now "roaming'' behind the Sinhala leadership.

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