THE SRI LANKAN government yesterday rejected the Tamil Tigers' offer of entering the democratic process after their military defeat at the hands of the security forces.
Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa told BBC that the LTTE could not be trusted to give up terrorism.
"I do not believe the LTTE can enter the democratic process after years of violence," Mr. Rajapaksa said.
The rebels had said they would give up violence after their leader Velupillai Prabhakaran was killed in the recent fighting in the North.
"I am not interested in the LTTE at all," Mr. Rajapaksa -- the most senior civilian official in charge of the war against the Tamil Tigers -- told the BBC in a wide-ranging telephone interview.
He said there were enough democratic Tamil political parties in the country to represent the Tamil community.
On Sunday, senior rebel spokesman Selvarasa Pathmanathan told BBC's Tamil service, the LTTE would now resort to non-violent methods to fight for the rights of the Tamils and hoped to achieve their aims and aspirations through the democratic process.
Mr Rajapaksa said the work begun by the government forces was not yet over as they had to recover weapons hidden by the LTTE in the northern and eastern regions.
"Some people think the army's task is over but it is not so. The entire area has to be de-mined and then we have to look for any remnants of the LTTE hiding in the jungles," Mr. Rajapaksa said.
He has also appealed to Western nations to dismantle the LTTE's overseas network and hand over their local leaders, who he said were still trying to purchase arms and ammunition for the group.
On reports of intrusive checks against Tamils in the capital Colombo in recent weeks, Mr Rajapaksa said the Tamil community was not being singled out. He said everyone - including government officials and politicians - were being stopped at checkpoints for security reasons.
"It is not our aim to continue with these security procedures. These checks will be eased when gradually normalcy returns to the country," he said.
With most of the senior Tamil Tiger leadership thought to have been killed and the Tigers' militarily defeated the 26-year fight for a separate Tamil homeland has more or less come to an end.
Some 280,000 Sri Lankan civilians have been displaced, posing a huge problem for the government and the international aid agencies.
During a weekend visit to Sri Lanka, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had called for a process of national reconciliation that would fully address the legitimate aspirations of the Tamils in Sri Lanka. (Courtesy: Daily Mirror)
