parado windscreen smashed and hole  

Fronside of his Parado 

MP's Parado  

MP Rajiraj was assasinated by unknown gun men  

Prominent Tamil politician assassinated in Sri Lankan capital as war looms

Associated Press, Fri November 10, 2006 06:32 Associated Press Writer COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) _ A prominent Tamil legislator was assassinated in the Sri Lankan capital Friday, while the navy said it killed six rebels in an attack on Tamil Tiger boats.

Nadaraja Raviraj, a member of the Tamil National Alliance, was leaving his house in Colombo when he was approached and shot at close range, said K. Sivajilingam, a fellow member of Parliament. Raviraj's bodyguard was also killed.

President Mahinda Rajapakse called the killing a ``cowardly and heinous act'' by ``those opposed to dissent and political pluralism in a democratic society.''

The Tamil party blamed the government for the killing.

``We understand that a whole magazine has been emptied on them in broad daylight,'' said Suresh Premachandran, a Tamil National Alliance legislator. ``This is a clear message to Tamil parliamentarians ... 'Don't open your mouth.'''

Government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said it was unfair to blame the government before an inquiry takes place. He said the president had asked for help from London's Scotland Yard in investigating a series of attacks _ including Raviraj's killing _ which the government suspects were orchestrated by the Tamil Tigers to blame the government.

The U.S. Embassy condemned Raviraj's assassination. ``It is critical that crimes such as the murder of Nadaraja Raviraj not go unpunished. We urge the government to begin an immediate investigation,'' the embassy said.

Raviraj, who also worked as a lawyer and was going to court when he was attacked, died at the National Hospital, said hospital director Anil Jasinghe.

Raviraj, a leading campaigner for Tamil self-rule, became mayor of the Tamil heartland Jaffna in 1999 following the assassination of his two predecessors. He was elected to Parliament as a rebel-backed representative of Tamil National Alliance in 2001 and 2004.

On Thursday, he had joined a demonstration outside the local U.N. refugee agency to call for the protection of thousands of refugees who fled their homes after military shelling killed at least 23 Tamil civilians Wednesday in the eastern Batticaloa region. The Tamil National Alliance said 41,000 Tamils were displaced.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan navy destroyed two Tamil Tiger naval boats early Friday, killing six rebels, said navy spokesman, Commander D.K.P. Dassanayake. A pro-rebel Web site reported the clash, but gave no casualty figures. The rebels, who often dispute government casualty figures, did not immediately comment.

A day earlier, rebels claimed they killed 25 Sri Lanka sailors and captured four in a clash in northern waters. But Dassanayake said only seven sailors were missing. There was no way to independently verify the figures.

Tamil Tiger military spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan said five rebels were also killed.

Military spokesman Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe said the navy, assisted by the air force, destroyed 22 of 26 rebel boats, but he did not give casualty figures.

The Tigers have been fighting since 1983 for a separate Tamil homeland in the country's north and east, citing discrimination by the majority Sinhalese.

The conflict killed more than 65,000 people before a Norwegian-brokered truce in 2002. Subsequent peace talks failed, and surging violence this year has killed more than 2,000 civilians, soldiers and rebels, threatening to plunge the country back into full-scale civil war.

Lanka seeks British help to probe assassination of Tamil MP

Colombo, Nov. 10 (PTI): Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa sought help from Scotland Yard to investigate assassination of Tamil legislator Nadarajah Raviraj, who was shot dead here today.

Pro-rebel Tamil legislator Nadarajah Raviraj, 44, and his bodyguard were shot dead as they drove to work in Colombo's Narahenpita area this morning in rush hour traffic, police said.

"President Rajapaksa has asked the Foreign Ministry to make an urgent request to Scotland Yard to assist in investigations into the assassination of Raviraj," the president's office said in a statement.

The last time Sri Lanka received British help to investigate a crime was in April 1993 to probe the assassination of Opposition politician Lalith Athulathmudali.

However, the killing remains unsolved till today.

Meanwhile, international outrage over the latest assassination was led by the United States which asked the government to ensure that the culprits were brought to justice.

"It is critical that crimes such as the murder of Nadarajah Raviraj not go unpunished," the US embassy here said in a statement.

"We urge the government to begin an immediate investigation into the circumstances of his killing and to find, arrest, and prosecute those responsible on the most urgent basis."

US deplores Sri Lankan MP's killing

Colombo, Nov 10 (IANS) The US deplored Friday's assassination of N. Raviraj, a Sri Lankan Tamil MP, and demanded "an immediate investigation into the circumstances of his killing".

"We urge the government to begin an immediate investigation into the circumstances of his killing and to find, arrest and prosecute those responsible on the most urgent basis," the US embassy said in a statement.

An unidentified gunman shot dead Raviraj, an MP from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), which is allied with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), in the nation's capital.

"We express our deepest sympathy for this loss to the family of Raviraj, to his parliamentary colleagues, and to the people of Sri Lanka, who have been unjustly robbed of his energy and talent," the American statement said. "It is critical that crimes such as the murder of Raviraj not go unpunished."

Sri Lankan Tamil members of the Parliament and their supporters protest in front of the United Nations office in Colombo against the artillery attack in Batticaloa. Tiger rebels destroyed two Sri Lankan gunboats in a suicide attack as the government expressed regret over the killing of about 65 civilians in an artillery blitz on a rebel-held area 

Sri Lankan Tamil members of the Parliament and their supporters shout slogans with holding placards in front of the United Nations office in Colombo. Sri Lanka's government has expressed "regret" over the killing of some 65 civilians in an artillery blitz on the rebel-held east of the island, but blamed the Tamil Tigers for using human shields 

Gopalakrishnan, left, reacts as he sees the remains of his sister Kanagasingham Thangamaller, covered with a cloth, at a hospital morgue in Valachchenai, about 230 kilometers (144 miles) northeast of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Nov. 9, 2006. Thangamaller who sustained serious injuries when government forces fired artillery and rocket launchers on Wednesday, died on her way to the hospital. Human rights group Amnesty International denounced the shelling of a school by Sri Lanka's military as a senior Tamil Tiger rebel said Thursday 60 civilians had been killed in the artillery attack.  

Sri Lankan Tamil members of the Parliament and their supporters shout slogans with holding placards in front of the United Nations office in Colombo. Sri Lanka's government has expressed "regret" over the killing of some 65 civilians in an artillery blitz of the rebel-held east of the island, but also accused Tamil Tigers of using human shields. 

UNREST IN SRI LANKA - PLEASE READ THIS PAGE - INNOCENT PEOPLE OF VAHARAI WERE KILLED BY ARTLERY SRIKE -

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - At least nine vessels were destroyed in a naval clash Thursday between Tamil rebels and Sri Lanka's navy off the northern coast, officials said, as a human rights group denounced the shelling of a school by the military in which at least 23 people were killed and scores injured.

Tamil Tiger rebels said they killed at least 26 Sri Lankan sailors and caught four others alive in a fierce sea battle off the northern Jaffna peninsula.

"We have caught four sailors alive and found one dead body. Our fighters have confirmed that they killed at least another 25 sailors," Tamil Tigers' military spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan told The Associated Press.

He said five Sea Tiger fighters also died in the attack.

Ilanthirayan told The Associated Press that fighting broke out when navy vessels disturbed the rebels' "routine naval exercises."

A Defense Ministry official, however, said about 16 rebel boats, including explosive-laden suicide boats, attacked a navy patrol and sank one boat.

The navy, assisted by the air force, retaliated, destroying eight rebel boats, the official said on condition of anonymity due to policy. One naval craft was destroyed in the battle and another was damaged.

There was no independent account of the incident, and no details of casualties were immediately available.

Separately on Thursday, the military said Tamil rebels detonated a roadside bomb, killing two soldiers in northern Jaffna peninsula on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the government said it regretted Wednesday's artillery attack on the school.

"While we regret this whole episode, we say that national security is utmost," chief government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella told a news conference.

Scores of civilians had taken refuge in the school in Kithiraveli, a rebel-controlled eastern Sri Lankan village from fighting between the army and Tamil Tiger guerrillas in when it was hit, senior rebel official Seevaratnam Puleedevan told The Associated Press.

He said at least 60 civilians were killed and 150 wounded.

Helen Olafsdottir, a spokeswoman for the European cease-fire monitoring mission, said monitors had counted 23 bodies, mostly of women, children and older people, and were still investigating. Another 137 people were admitted to hospitals, she said.

"Our monitors have visited the impact site and they have been told that as many as 40 rounds of artillery fire had hit the area," Olafsdottir said. She said the monitors did not find any sign of a rebel military installation in the impact area.

But Rambukwella said it was likely that the rebels had forced civilians to stay in the area to become human shields — a charge the insurgents denied.

London-based Amnesty International condemned the attack and called for an inquiry by international and independent human rights experts, saying there was an urgent need to "respond to the dramatic deterioration of the human rights and humanitarian situation."

In Colombo, 22 deputies from the Tamil National Alliance — a political party widely believed to be a proxy of the rebels — demonstrated in front of the U.N. refugee agency office, asking it to take action to protect displaced people.

The group said 41,000 Tamil civilians have been displaced in the Batticaloa region, the area of Wednesday's attack.

Rebel official Puleedevan said many villagers are now staying in makeshift tents or in the open, fearing more artillery fire.

"It is a pathetic situation," Puleedevan said. "There are more than 5,000 people there (in the village) and they are living in tremendous fear."

Military spokesman Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe said the military wasn't targeting civilians, but acknowledged that it had fired artillery to silence rebels' guns.

"Tiger shelling and mortar fire on security forces' detachments in the east intensified on Tuesday and Wednesday, compelling the army to retaliate to counter further terrorist shelling," the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Peace broker Norway, meanwhile, called on the government to explain why troops fired grenades that landed just meters (yards) from chief European cease-fire monitor Lars Soelvberg on Wednesday as he was visiting the village of Pooneryn in the country's volatile north.

Norwegian Aid Minister Erik Solheim called the incident "very worrying."

"We have asked the Sri Lankan government for an immediate explanation," he said in a statement issued in Oslo.

Soelvberg, a Norwegian, was inspecting a road suggested by the government as an alternative to a main highway that has been closed since August because of heavy fighting between government troops and separatist rebels. He escaped unhurt. The military denied knowledge of Soelvberg's presence in the area when they attacked.

The Tigers have been fighting since 1983 for a separate Tamil homeland in the country's north and east, citing discrimination by the majority Sinhalese.

The conflict killed more than 65,000 people before a Norwegian-brokered truce in 2002, but subsequent peace talks failed. Surging violence this year has killed more than 2,000 civilians, soldiers and rebel fighters and threatens a return to all-out civil war.

Associated Press reporters Krishan Francis and Bharatha Mallawarachi contributed to this report.

Anger over Lanka civilian deaths

The Sri Lankan government has been heavily criticised for an artillery bombardment that killed dozens of civilians in the east of the island.

Peace negotiator Erik Solheim said he was "very troubled" by the attack. Human rights group Amnesty International called it "appalling".

Some 2,000 people were in a camp hit by army shells. Clashes between troops and Tamil rebels have trapped thousands.

Meanwhile, a fierce sea battle has been going on off Sri Lanka's north coast.

Both sides accuse the other of starting the clash, in which the navy says it sank 22 rebel craft and lost two of its own. Twenty sailors are missing.

The rebels say they captured four sailors alive and five of their fighters were killed.

'So many dead and wounded'

Mr Solheim accused government forces of an "onslaught" in Vakarai, where the refugee camp was shelled on Wednesday.

A lot of children died... there are thousands of people trying to leave

Survivor Palachchenai Kadiraveli

Sea battle erupts off Jaffna

Civilians' dire plight

Q&A: Sri Lanka conflict

"Yet again it is civilians who are being killed and made to suffer due to military operations," he said in a statement.

"I am extremely disappointed that the parties are not honouring the promises they made in Geneva a week and a half ago to refrain from launching any military offensives."

Thousands have been trying to flee the shelling in the eastern district of Batticaloa.

But the BBC's Dumeetha Luthra in Colombo says they have nowhere to go as the lines from the Tamil Tiger-controlled areas into government territory are closed.

Aid agencies are working on creating a humanitarian corridor, but the government has so far failed to provide any safety assurance to allow supply convoys safe passage, she says.

'Human shields'

The school being used as a makeshift camp shelled on Wednesday was hit by the army in a heavy exchange of fire with the Tamil Tigers in rebel-held territory.

The rebels say at least 45 civilians were killed on the spot - three more died later of their injuries.

Child injured after army shelling in eastern Sri Lanka

A number of children were among the wounded

Government defence spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella told the AFP news agency that the military had targeted two Tamil Tiger artillery positions, but conceded a civilian centre had also been hit.

"While we regret this whole episode, we also must say that national security is uppermost in our minds," he told reporters.

Mr Rambukwella said the government would investigate the incident, but said the army was responding to an earlier Tamil Tiger attack and accused the rebels of using civilians as human shields.

International truce monitors who have visited the scene described total panic as tens of thousands of people try to leave the area.

Two hospitals have received more than 100 casualties, including at least 17 children.

"There were a lot of explosions, so many people dead and wounded," 29-year-old survivor Palachchenai Kadiraveli told the Reuters news agency.

"A lot of children died... there are thousands of people trying to leave."

Call for answers

The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) estimates that about 35,000 people have been displaced by fighting in the region which flared up in August.

"Our monitors saw there were no military installations in the camp area, so we would certainly like some answers from the military regarding the nature and reasons of this attack," SLMM spokeswoman Helen Olafsdottir said.

The human rights group, Amnesty International, said: "It is appalling that the military should attack a camp for displaced people - these are civilians who have already been forced from their homes because of the conflict."

The government says nearly 3,000 people - troops, rebels and civilians - have been killed in violence since last year. There is no reliable independent confirmation of that figure.

Correspondents say a 2002 ceasefire now exists only in name.

U.N. condemns Sri Lanka 's shelling of school that sheltered displaced people

Associated Press, Thu November 9, 2006 12:42 EST . COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) The United Nations on Thursday condemned the Sri Lankan military's shelling of a school sheltering displaced people, killing at least 23 Tamils.

``The U.N. condemns in the strongest possible terms the shelling by the security forces of the government of Sri Lanka - on defenseless civilians sheltering in Kathiraveli School in Vaharai yesterday,'' the U.N. said in a statement.

``The killing and wounding of displaced persons is unjustifiable and a violation of the most basic humanitarian norms,'' the statement said

The refugee camp was devastated by artlery srike 

The dead bodies of the civilians in Vaharai Refugees camp.  

The incident in Vaharai - about 65 civilians were killed and 300 wounded by the artlery strike  

Sri Lanka talks end without deal, no new talks set

29 Oct 2006 17:32:15 GMT

Source: Reuters

GENEVA, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Talks between the Sri Lankan government and Tamil rebels ended on Sunday with no agreement on political or humanitarian issues, and no date was set for further discussions, parties to the talks said.

S.P. Thamilselvan, chief negotiator for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), said the rebels would not participate in new talks until the A9 highway linking the north to the rest of the country was reopened, a demand refused by the government in the weekend session.

"It is regrettable that they have imposed a condition for future talks," Nimal Siripala de Silva, head of the government delegation, told a Geneva news conference after the two-day meetings.

Eirik Solheim, international development minister of mediator Norway, said he would continue to work with both sides "to discuss all possible ideas on how to move the peace process forward."

The government and Tigers reiterated a commitment to Sri Lanka's 2002 ceasefire deal -- which remains officially in place despite a recent escalation of violence -- and promised in the talks not to launch any military offensives, Solheim said.

"The international community has repeatedly expressed that it expects the parties to show restraint and fulfill these commitments," he said.

Suicide attack LTTE's weapon of choice

Satinder Bindra
CNN

Posted Sunday , October 29, 2006 at 19:27

Updated Sunday , October 29, 2006 at 20:03

LTTE THREAT: Sri Lankan army launching an offensive against the LTTE in early 1990s.

Colombo: A violent run-up to peace talks – though a string of suicide attacks by Tamil rebels left scores dead in just the past two weeks.

CNN traces the origins of suicide bombing – now called the island's most famous export.

Another suicide attack an all too common occurrence regularly played out on TV screens around the world.

The recent one took place on the tiny South Asian island nation of Sri Lanka – where a 26 year old ethnic conflict largely forgotten by the rest of the world – rages on.

The Sri Lankan army has been battling a smaller 7,000 strong, but highly motivated, fighting force – the Tamil tigers.

Along with their military skills, the Tigers are adept at spreading their message on the Internet with videos.

The Tigers say they are justified in using military means to establish a homeland for the country's largest minority, the nearly four million strong Tamil community.

But the US and several other countries label them as terrorists.

Experts even credit the tigers with writing the book on suicide bombings – now one of the most frequently used terror techniques around the world.

Terror Analyst Brendan O'Duffy says, “The suicide belt was pioneered by the Tamil Tigers. They also pioneered naval attacks against large ships, which have also been copied by other organisations. And they have a very sophisticated use of vehicle bombs, cars, trucks, even bicycles to deliver explosives.”

The video, which was shot by Sri Lankan state television in 1993, shows the country's then president Ranasinghe Premadasa at a rally. Moments later, he was assassinated by a tiger who blew himself up just a few feet away.

The photo taken in 1991 shows a female Tamil Tiger just inches away from former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. Seconds later she detonated her bomb, killing him and herself.

More deadly clashes in Sri Lanka with peace talks underway

GENEVA (AFP) - At least five people were killed in clashes in north and east Sri Lanka overnight, police and defence officials said, as the government and rebel Tamil Tigers hold peace talks in Geneva.

Two suspected rebels were found dead after police repulsed an attack on their patrol late Saturday, officials said.

A third Tiger fighter was gunned down when an unidentified man stormed into a hospital ward in northern Anuradhapura town where he had been recovering from stab wounds and opened fire, police said.

Two soldiers were killed by rebel gunfire in a separate skirmish in the northern Jaffna peninsula Saturday, defence officials said.

Tiger rebels said the first day's outcome was "zero" with no agreement on addressing the urgent needs of over half a million people directly affected by recent fighting that claimed over 3,000 lives and displaced more than 200,000.

"I would say there was no progress after day one," Tamil Tiger chief negotiator S. P. Thamilselvan said. "We did not hear of any steps that would indicate progress. The progress was zero."

He said the "core issue" for his Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was the addressing of needs of Tamils affected by the recent fighting, the opening of a key highway and the lifting of an economic embargo on rebel territory.

Hopes of a breakthrough were raised Saturday when the Sri Lankan government climbed down from its rigid position and agreed to consider power-sharing similar to what exists in neighbouring India.

"A Sri Lankan model of devolution will be devised for an undivided country to address the root causes of this conflict," the Sri Lankan government's chief negotiator Nimal Siripala de Silva said at the start of talks.

"It will also be a model which will be consistent with regional geo-political realities," de Silva added referring to his giant neighbour India.

The government had earlier opposed a federal system although a previous administration in December 2002 agreed with the Tigers to work towards granting extensive devolution of power within a federal constitution.

Those talks remained inconclusive and the Tigers said there was no firm offer on the table by the government during Saturday's closed-door discussions at the Geneva International Conference Centre.

Norwegian peace brokers had not expected a breakthrough during the two days of talks in this international city where the two parties were expected to play to their own audiences by sticking to entrenched positions.

However, diplomats involved with the process said they were trying to get the parties to agree to meet again in December and January to keep the peace hopes alive and save a tottering truce.

Their last meeting eight months ago in Switzerland was to prevent Sri Lanka sliding back to full-scale war after 153 people were killed between December and February. However, after the February meet, over 3,000 people have been killed.

Norway blamed both parties saying they failed to honour pledges.

A Sri Lankan government delegate who declined to be named said that little progress was made Saturday and noted that there was little scope for compromise.

"The government delegation is not in a position to agree to the LTTE demands because of the military implications," the negotiator said. "We cannot have 'normalising' without 'de-escalating.'"

Top peace broker Erik Solheim warned both sides to show progress or risk losing international financial support. The Tigers who have been fighting for independence for minority Tamils run the risk of greater international isolation while the governnent could lose foreign aid.

Solheim said the international community was running out of patience and the South Asian nation was jeopardising millions of dollars in support.

Speaking on behalf of Sri Lanka's key international backers -- the

European Union, Japan and the United States -- Solheim urged the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE to resolve Asia's longest and the bloodiest separatist conflict which has claimed over 60,000 lives since 1972.

The LTTE's Thamilselvan said they were looking for an immediate response from the government to reopen a key highway to the northern peninsula of Jaffna, cut off by road from the rest of the island since August.

For their part, Thamilselvan said the Tigers were willing to fully cooperate with truce monitors and the Norwegians to implement the February 2002 ceasefire which now remains only on paper.

Peace brokers struggled to save Sri Lanka's collapsing ceasefire as critical talks between the warring parties continued into their final day in Geneva with both sides sticking to their guns

Sri Lankan rebels urge government to lift Jaffna blockade; warn against military moves

Associated Press, Sun October 29, 2006 06:58 COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) Sri Lanka - 's separatist rebels lambasted the government for not agreeing to lift its blockade of an ethnic Tamil stronghold in the north, and warned of ``serious consequences'' if the military steps up its actions during ongoing negotiations.

Rebel and government negotiators attending the talks in Geneva, Switzerland, hope to salvage a 2002 cease-fire and bring a permanent end to 23 years of civil conflict on the South Asian island.

The cease-fire has virtually collapsed this year in a major upsurge of fighting in the Tamil-majority north and east. The United Nations says the renewed violence has caused more than 200,000 people to flee their homes in the area, where the rebels want to establish a separate Tamil state.

The conflict has left more than 65,000 people dead, in addition to more than 2,000 civilians and combatants killed this year.

The first day of talks on Saturday ``concluded without the parties agreeing to any measures to relieve the humanitarian crisis,'' the pro-rebel Web site TamilNet reported.

The rebels say the government has cut the northern Jaffna peninsula off from the rest of the country, and are demanding that it reopens a key road to allow the delivery of humanitarian supplies.

The government denies there is any blockade and insists a sea delivery route is cheaper, more efficient and safer.

``We took up the humanitarian crisis in Jaffna as the urgent priority issue,'' TamilNet quoted Tigers' political chief, S.P. Tamilselvan, as saying after Saturday's talks, the first formal meeting between the two sides since February.

``The Sri Lankan government was not prepared to relieve the population from the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe,'' Tamilselvan said.

Meanwhile, a rebel official attending the peace talks told The Associated Press in Geneva that the government is building troops numbers near a northern line that divides government and rebel-held territories, as peace talks began for a second day Sunday.

``This is usually done in preparation for military operations. We are very disappointed by the actions of the government. Exploitation ... for military advancement can cause serious consequences,'' said rebel military spokesman, Rasiah Ilanthirayan.

The military denied it was increasing the numbers of its troops near the northern line.

``It is completely wrong,'' military spokesman Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe said, accusing the rebels of carrying out false propaganda.

The government has long blamed the rebels of serious human rights abuses including the recruitment of child soldiers and that they stifle democracy in the areas they control. Colombo has said it hoped the talks can move the country forward.

Talks planned for April were canceled after both sides blamed the other for the rising violence.

The rebels want a self-ruled homeland for minority ethnic Tamils, citing discrimination by the majority Sinhalese. The government says it can offer autonomy, but not a separate state.

Norwegian mediator tells Sri Lanka talks that international community impatient for peace

Norwegian mediator tells Sri Lanka talks that international community impatient for peace

Associated Press, Sat October 28, 2006 07:57 EDT . GENEVA (AP) _ The Norwegian mediator leading two days of peace talks between the Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tiger rebels in Switzerland said Saturday it was time to move forward because the nation's people and the international community were growing impatient for peace.

Erik Solheim, Norway's minister for international development, opened the weekend talks with a personal appeal for progress toward an end to the 23-year conflict that has claimed the lives of more than 65,000 people, saying that ``the people of Sri Lanka may feel a lot of impatience in finding a solution now, and there is also an impatience in the broader international community.''

He warned the parties, who were meeting in Geneva for the second time this year, that progress had to be made soon, otherwise the focus would shift to other conflicts around the globe.

``Every political leader in the world tends to focus on one or two (conflicts) at a time,'' Solheim said.

``The only way for you to get the attention of presidents, prime ministers, foreign ministers, those who make decisions globally, is to move forward. If you move forward they will go with you to the last person,'' he said.

Neither of the Sri Lankan delegations spoke to the press at the start of the meeting, but opening statements were posted on government and pro-Tamil Web sites.

Accusing the government of engaging in an ``undeclared war,'' the political chief of the Tamil Tigers, S.P. Tamilselvan, said his group was prepared to engage in ``unconditional direct talks'' because of the dire situation in the country.

The European Union's inclusion of the Tamil Tigers on a list of designated terrorist groups in May also contributed to a worsening of the conflict, he said, by giving the military the chance to act ``with impunity'' against the rebels.

``The best we can hope for from the current talks is therefore, the strengthening of the (cease-fire) agreement that has the potential to lead to a permanent, just peace,'' Tamilselvan said.

The government, which has long maintained that the Tigers are guilty of serious human rights abuses _ including the recruitment of child soldiers _ and stifling democracy in the areas they control, said it hoped the talks would move the country forward.

At the top of the agenda were ``restoration of democracy, political pluralism, meaningful devolution, human rights and economic development,'' said Sri Lanka's health minister, Nimal Siripala de Silva, who led the government delegation.

The government statement did not make any mention of the rebels' demand Friday that a road linking Sri Lanka's northern Jaffna peninsula with the rest of the country be reopened.

Daya Master, a spokesman for the Tigers, had said Friday that the group would not consent to any future meetings with the government if the military did not lift the road blockade.

The Geneva talks are taking place under tight security against a backdrop of mounting violence in the South Asian country, which has claimed the lives of about 2,000 civilians, soldiers and rebels so far this year.

Solheim, who has been involved in the peace negotiations for eight years, said both sides had failed to implement agreements reached at a first round of talks in February intended to revive a 2002 Norwegian-brokered cease-fire.

Fighting that has flared up since last year has displaced about 200,000 people, according to United Nations estimates, and shut off communities in the north and east of the country.

Earlier Saturday, suspected Tamil Tiger rebels fatally shot a government soldier and two bomb blasts blamed on rebels wounded six police officers in the volatile northeast, the military said.

Highlighting the humanitarian suffering of those affected by the war, Solheim said military de-escalation and an end to impunity for those carrying out the killings were important first steps toward a political solution, which he said should occur ``within the unity and sovereignty of one Sri Lankan state.''

He also called on the parties to allow the Nordic-led Sri Lanka monitoring mission access to all conflict areas in order to assess the adherence to any cease-fire agreements.

Last month a group of Sri Lankan lawyers traveled to Geneva to press the U.N. Human Rights Council to take action against human rights violations being carried out by the Sri Lankan military and the Tamil Tiger rebels.

During the run-up to the talks both sides emphasized their willingness to engage in open discussions to salvage the cease-fire and return Sri Lanka to the state of near normalcy it experienced between 2002 and 2005.

Associated Press Writer Eliane Engeler contributed to this report.

1 soldier, 1 civilian killed, 6 police wounded in Sri Lanka as peace talks begin

Associated Press, Sat October 28, 2006 09:59 EDT . COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels fatally shot a government soldier and wounded six police officers in two bomb attacks Saturday in volatile northeastern Sri Lanka - , as peace talks began in Switzerland between the two sides. Erik Solheim, the Norwegian chief mediator, opened the talks with a personal appeal for progress in ending the 23-year conflict, saying it was time to move forward because Sri Lanka - 's people and the international community are growing impatient for peace.

The Tigers political chief, S.P. Tamilselvan, accused the government of carrying out an undeclared war against the Tamil people, and said his group was prepared to engage in ``unconditional direct talks'' because of the dire situation.

He blamed the European Union's inclusion of the Tamil Tigers on a list of designated terrorist groups for a worsening of the conflict, saying it had allowed the military the chance to act ``with impunity.''

``The best we can hope for from the current talks is therefore, the strengthening of the (cease-fire) agreement that has the potential to lead to a permanent, just peace,'' Tamilselvan said in Geneva, according to TamilNet.

The government, which has long maintained that the Tigers are guilty of serious human rights abuses including the recruitment of child soldiers and stifling democracy in the areas they control, said it hoped the talks would move the country forward.

Talks planned for April were canceled after both sides blamed the other for the rising violence.

Increased fighting in the island country off southern India has killed about 2,000 soldiers, rebels and civilians this year.

The rebels want a self-ruled homeland for minority ethnic Tamils, citing discrimination by the majority Sinhalese.

The government says it can offer autonomy, but not a separate state. About 65,000 people were killed before the 2002 truce

Rains claim four lives, 45,000 displaced

COLOMBO: The prevailing heavy inter-monsoon rains have caused four deaths and 45,000 people from 8,000 families have been displaced. Many areas in several districts were flooded. The four deaths have been reported from Dankotuwa, Neluwa and Yakkalamulla.

Around 500 houses have been destroyed in Gampaha, Kalutara, Colombo and Ratnapura districts.

Residents of Gampaha, Wattala, Katana and Ja-Ela areas were seriously affected by the heavy rain.

Puttalam, Naththandiya, Mahawewa, Dankotuwa, Veyangoda, Galle and Yakkalamulla have been affected by floods. Public transportation has come to a standstill and telephone lines and electricity lines have been seriously damaged.

Landslides have occurred in Deraniyagala due to heavy rain.

Kelani, Kalu, Walawa and Gin rivers are about to overflow. The water level of Ma-Oya has increased.

The present climate will continue till the end of November, Deputy Director of the Meteorological Department S. Kariyawasam said.

The public are warned to take precautions against heavy thunder and lightning activity during this period.

The Government has provided Rs. 4 million relief assistance to those displaced by the torrential rains which began on October 13.

Rs.20,000 will be given as compensation to reconstruct damaged houses.

The Government has already handed over funds to Divisional Secretaries to provide cooked meals and other essential dry rations to flood victims.

Disaster Relief Service Ministry's National Disaster Management Centre Director N.D. Hettiarchchi told the Daily News that the prevailing heavy rains and occasional cyclonic winds were a feature of the inter-monsoon rains.

The heavy rains experienced during the past few days caused floods in a number of Districts. This was one of the homes submerged in the floods on Bund Road, Hendala, Wattala. But for kids like this even the vagaries of weather could be changed to playtime!