"We need international support to isolate the LTTE..." - Bogollagama
Apr 02, New Delhi: Sri Lanka Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said today that his government will involve the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as a stakeholder in the stalled peace talks and urged the SAARC nations and the international community to force the LTTE to come for negotiations by restricting their flow of funds.
"We will include the LTTE in a negotiated settlement," Foreign Minister who is attending the two-day 14th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit told the reporters in New Delhi today.
Minister told that the ruling party’s proposals on power devolution will be submitted this month and a devolution package for Tamil speaking areas would be announced in the next eight weeks to pave the way for a negotiated settlement of the ethnic conflict.
Foreign Minister said that the ceasefire was still in place despite repeated attacks by the LTTE including the violation of Sri Lanka air space by attacking the Katunayake Air Force base last month. He said his government does not treat such incidents as ''war'' but more as terrorism.
Bogollagama urged the SAARC nations and the international community to cut off the funding for LTTE’s armed struggle. "We need international support to isolate the LTTE and force it to resume the peace talks with the government,” he said.
Responding to a question regarding the differences in the approach to the problem by India and Sri Lanka, the Minister said that both governments are united in dealing with terrorism and India has supported the Sri Lankan endeavour to find a negotiated settlement.
Heads of states from eight South Asian nations - Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, the Maldives, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will meet for two days from tomorrow. The fight against terrorism will be a key issue to be taken up at the summit.
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