|
Visit our special sections for latest developments and analysis:
|
|
 |
Tamil Tigers drop separatist demand, seek talks to end bloodshed
Sri Lanka's top Tamil Tiger leader has declared that his armed struggle is not aimed at creating a separate state.
Velupillai Prabhakaran, who leads the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, says his group is not a terrorist organisation.
He says they are seeking peace and diginity for Sri Lanka's Tamil minority.
In an address broadcast over his clandestine radio, he says the Tamil people want to maintain their national identity and to live in their own historically given homeland.
It is the first time that the Tiger leader has made it clear the group is willing to negotiate something less than a separate state.
The guerrillas have been fighting the majority Sinhalese government for an independent Tamil homeland for decades.
Tamils constitute about 12.6 percent of the population.
28/11/01 6:00:40 | ABC Radio Australia News
Back
|
|
|
|
Related Stories
|
|
20/11/01 7:11:43
EU expresses fears over Sri Lankan elections
18/11/01 9:11:12
Politician killed in eastern Sri Lanka
14/11/01 5:46:26
Sri Lankan president renews offer of peace talks with rebels
14/11/01 5:46:23
Tamil Tiger rebels attack security checkpoint in Batticaloa
|
|
Related Sites
|
|
World News
from Radio Australia
News across Asia, the Pacific and beyond.
|
