Associated Press Writer - COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) A Norwegian peace envoy met Friday with Tamil Tiger rebel leaders to discuss ways to resuscitate the island's moribund peace process, but no progress was made, a rebel official said.
Jon Hanssen-Bauer, who arrived in Sri Lanka - last week, has already met with government officials and discussed ways to restart the stalled peace talks between the government and Tigers. He arrived in the rebels' northern stronghold of Kilinochchi on Friday.
``We clearly stated our positions on various issues,'' rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan told The Associated Press. ``The only positive outcome was that there was a talk.''
The rebels continued to demand a permanent reopening of a vital transportation route that connects the Tamil-dominated northern Jaffna peninsula with the mainland before peace negotiations resume.
The A-9 highway was closed by the military in August after the Tigers attacked a military checkpoint and killed several soldiers. The military has said the move was necessary to stop rebels from transporting weapons and fighters into government-held areas.
However, nearly 500,000 Tamil civilians have been cut off from vital supplies since the highway's closure.
Last month, the government said it was ready to reopen the highway for a one-time supply run, but the rebels balked at the offer, calling it politically motivated.
``There is no change in our stand that the government must immediately reopen A-9 highway permanently,'' Ilanthirayan said.
Sri Lankan officials could not be reached for comment late Friday.
The Tiger rebels have been fighting for more than 20 years for a separate homeland for the island nation's 3.1 million-strong ethnic Tamil minority, citing decades of discrimination by the majority Sinhalese.
The government says it is willing to give autonomy to areas where Tamils are in the majority, but the rebels want sweeping changes that the government says will infringe on the country's sovereignty.
A sharp spike in violence this year has killed at least 3,500 fighters and civilians, leaving a 2002 cease-fire in tatters and the country in an undeclared civil war.
Jon Hanssen-Bauer, who arrived in Sri Lanka - last week, has already met with government officials and discussed ways to restart the stalled peace talks between the government and Tigers. He arrived in the rebels' northern stronghold of Kilinochchi on Friday.
``We clearly stated our positions on various issues,'' rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan told The Associated Press. ``The only positive outcome was that there was a talk.''
The rebels continued to demand a permanent reopening of a vital transportation route that connects the Tamil-dominated northern Jaffna peninsula with the mainland before peace negotiations resume.
The A-9 highway was closed by the military in August after the Tigers attacked a military checkpoint and killed several soldiers. The military has said the move was necessary to stop rebels from transporting weapons and fighters into government-held areas.
However, nearly 500,000 Tamil civilians have been cut off from vital supplies since the highway's closure.
Last month, the government said it was ready to reopen the highway for a one-time supply run, but the rebels balked at the offer, calling it politically motivated.
``There is no change in our stand that the government must immediately reopen A-9 highway permanently,'' Ilanthirayan said.
Sri Lankan officials could not be reached for comment late Friday.
The Tiger rebels have been fighting for more than 20 years for a separate homeland for the island nation's 3.1 million-strong ethnic Tamil minority, citing decades of discrimination by the majority Sinhalese.
The government says it is willing to give autonomy to areas where Tamils are in the majority, but the rebels want sweeping changes that the government says will infringe on the country's sovereignty.
A sharp spike in violence this year has killed at least 3,500 fighters and civilians, leaving a 2002 cease-fire in tatters and the country in an undeclared civil war.
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