Sri Lanka Peace Talks Likely to Take Time

[AP / SHIMALI SENANAYAKE, Associated Press Writer]

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) -- Peace talks between the Sri Lankan
government and Tamil Tiger rebels are unlikely to resume soon,
Norwegian mediators said Sunday, following a meeting with President
Chandrika Kumaratunga.
The Tamils say they will only resume talks if they are
recognized as the sole representative of Sri Lanka's 3.2 million
Tamil minority, and if the negotiations are based on their proposal
for self-rule.
But Kumaratunga has rejected the Tigers' proposal for wide
autonomy and has also been a vociferous critic of the
Norwegian-brokered peace. The Tigers broke off peace talks in April
last year, accusing the government of not allowing them enough
autonomy.
"It might take some time before the parties are in a
position to return to the negotiation table," Vidar Helgesen,
Norway's deputy foreign minister, said in a statement.
The statement described the discussions as "extensive and
constructive," and said Helgesen had "consultations on all aspects
of the peace process," with Kumaratunga.
Sunday's meeting was held at Kumaratunga's holiday bungalow
in Nuwara Eliya, a mountainous region in central Sri Lanka. It was
to be followed by talks Monday between the Norwegians and the Tigers
"to explore possibilities of recommencing direct peace
negotiations," the statement said.
Norway helped broker a February 2002 cease-fire between Sri
Lanka's former government and the Tigers aimed at ending the
separatist war, which has killed 65,000 people since 1983. The
Tigers say the majority Sinhalese discriminate against ethnic
Tamils.