Sri Lanka Government Conducting Indirect Talks With Tamil Militants

The government is holding indirect talks with Tamil militants, and the contacts could open the way for direct peace negotiations, a high-placed official said Friday.

But the most powerful Tamil militant group said it will declare on New Year’s Day a civil administration and police powers in Jaffna peninsula, the main guerrilla stronghold in northern Sri Lanka.

The Tamil Tigers originally announced their intentions several months ago.

Guerrilla commander Subramaniam Canagaratnam told Associated Press by telephone that more than 50 rebel traffic police in special uniforms will take to Jaffna streets Jan. 1.

Other appointees will issue postage stamps, collect taxes and issue licenses for vehicles and liquor stores. The move was considered a demonstration of the rebels’ power.

Indirect talks with Tamil rebels have been under way since the two sides exchanged prisoners Dec. 19, said a senior government official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The government is assembling a delegation that plans to visit Jaffna to discuss peace prospects with the Tigers, the official said.

Sri Lankan President Junius R. Jayewardene met Wednesday and Thursday with senior advisers and a powerful Tamil businessman to decide on the delegation, said the official.

Direct talks between the government and Tamil militants broke off 18 months ago in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan after rebels stormed out, alleging massacres of Tamils by security forces.

Meanwhile, a military spokesman in strife-torn Jaffna city said government security forces Friday extended a Christmas Day truce for 24 hours at the request of Tamil residents.

Tamil militants have been fighting for independence in northern and eastern Sri Lanka since 1983. The mostly Hindu Tamil minority claims it is discriminated against by the Sinhalese Buddhist majority, which controls the government and army.

More than 4,500 people have died in the ethnic conflict.