Sri Lanka Peace Talks Set for May, Government Says

Face-to-face talks with rebels aimed at ending an 18-year civil war will start in the first week of May, the government announced Wednesday, although the guerrillas said their outlaw status must be lifted before they will participate.

“Face-to-face discussions can be expected in the first week of May,” government spokesman G.L. Peiris said. “Both sides agree that the time is opportune to commence negotiations.”

“All prerequisites for talks will be considered, other than the demand for a separate state--which is not negotiable,” Peiris said.

Hopes for peace brightened after the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which is fighting for a separate state for the ethnic Tamil minority, signed a cease-fire accord Feb. 22.

The government and the rebels agreed to resume discussions over ending the war, which has claimed more than 64,000 lives.

A Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam statement on the Internet did not announce the May date, but it did not contradict it. The group said it was committed to the truce.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has said he would consider lifting the ban on the Tigers if he got an honest commitment from the rebels to help end the war.

The government announcement came after crucial closed-door discussions Tuesday among reclusive rebel leader Vellupilai Prabhakaran, rebel negotiator Anton Balasingham, rebel political wing leader S.P. Thamilselvan and a top Norwegian delegation.

The London-based Balasingham arrived on the island Monday, after an absence of three years, in a bid to boost the peace process and draw the two sides closer to the negotiating table, government officials and rebel sources said.

The government is looking for a venue in neighboring nations for the talks.