Sri Lanka, Tamil Rebels Reach Preliminary Cease-Fire Pact

Tamil rebels and the government agreed to a cease-fire Tuesday after peace talks resumed and guerrillas released four police officers held captive for more than four years.

No date was announced for the truce.

“All that remains for the declaration of a cessation of hostilities is President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s approval and a signed document from the Tamil Tigers,” said Kusumsiri Balapatabendi, the chief government negotiator.

The cease-fire would probably begin before Pope John Paul II arrives in Colombo on Jan. 20, Balapatabendi said after returning from talks in the rebel-held city of Jaffna, 185 miles north of Colombo.

The agreement and prisoner releases followed just one day of talks. The military has been wary of a cease-fire, fearing that rebels would use it to build up their forces and launch surprise attacks.

Hours after the talks ended, the government announced an $804-million aid package to rebuild northern and eastern provinces battered by the 11-year war, which has killed 34,000 people.

Government negotiators also offered to allow Tamils to fish once again in northern waters heavily guarded by the military.

The mostly Hindu Tamils, who make up 18% of the island nation’s 17 million people, want an independent homeland in the north and the east.

Rebels say the minority faces discrimination by the Buddhist Sinhalese, who control the government and the military.

Peace talks were suspended in October when a suspected rebel suicide bomber assassinated the main opposition presidential candidate in Colombo.