Published on - 11/9/2007
THE LTTE ON THURSDAY lamented the \'official silence\' of Sri Lanka\'s peace broker Norway on last week\'s killing of the group\'s political chief, a spokesman said. Tamil Tigers\' political chief, S.P. Tamilselvan, was killed when the air force bombed a communications center in rebel-held northern Kilinochchi district.
Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan said the group\'s new political wing head, P. Nadesan, on Thursday conveyed his concerns to Norway through Lars Johan Solvberg, the head of an European group monitoring a 2002 cease-fire.
Nadesan told Solvberg that \'the official silence of the peace facilitator Norway regarding the killing of Tamilselvan, is viewed with serious concern and is regretted by the Tamil population and the Tigers,\' Ilanthirayan said.
The truce brokered by Norway brought relative calm to the country for a few years, but a new wave of violence that began in December 2005 has killed more than 5,000 people and displaced many.
However, the internationally backed agreement is still valid on paper, with both sides reluctant to abrogate it officially, fearing international isolation.
The meeting between Nadesan and Solvberg took place a day after military reported that heavy fighting in the north killed 60 rebels and 11 soldiers.
The killing of Tamilselvan, who had become the public face of the rebels since the cease-fire, was widely seen as a public relations coup for the government and a sharp blow to the guerrillas\' morale.
While the reclusive rebel leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, is almost never seen in public, Tamilselvan, assumed by some to be the group\'s second-in-command, had become the rebel leadership\'s link to the outside world. He regularly held talks with peace envoys and diplomats. Norwegian Embassy officials could not be immediately contacted.
(Courtesy: The Island)
