Tigers Threaten to Pull Out of Peace Talks

Tamil Tiger rebels yesterday threatened to pull out of future peace talks in Switzerland after five aid workers were kidnapped at a Sri Lankan army checkpoint.

Seevaratnam Puleedevan, a senior official with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), told reporters that participation in the negotiations would depend on whether the government takes swift action against the kidnapping and harassment of Tamils.

The Tamil Relief Organisation, which since the tsunami has operated in both rebel and government territory, said five of its workers were snatched and bundled into an unmarked white van.

"This is a very serious incident and it will be very difficult to convince Tamil people to go for talks when the harassment is going on," said Mr Puleedevan. He accused "paramilitary personnel" of being responsible for the kidnapping.

The ceasefire between the rebels, the Sri Lankan army and government-backed paramilitary forces in effect broke down in November when President Mahinda Rajapakse, seen as a hardliner, scraped through to victory. Since then more than 150 people have been killed.

In Colombo, the US embassy said it was concerned about yesterday's kidnapping and urged authorities to "rapidly investigate the allegations". In a statement, the embassy called on "all parties to exercise restraint and calm" in the run-up to ceasefire talks in Geneva.

This month's peace talks are seen as crucial in building confidence between the two sides. Norway brokered the deal between the Tigers and the Sri Lankan government to hold direct negotiations for the first time in three years.

But the talks in Geneva are limited to ending the violence in the troubled north-eastern regions and fully implementing the ceasefire that began in February 2002.

There have been four failed attempts to negotiate peace in a civil war which pits the minority Tamils against a Buddhist Sinhalese population five times their number. The conflict has claimed more than 65,000 lives.

The government, which relies on the support of hardline Sinhalese parties, insists that Sri Lanka must remain a single, unitary state.