Sri Lanka rules out more war

The Tigers seem in no mood to make concessions

The Sri Lankan Government says it is confident that Tamil Tiger rebels will resume peace negotiations, and there will be no return to war.

Chief government negotiator GL Peiris said he had every expectation the Tigers would come back to the negotiating table once some practical matters had been sorted out.

A BBC correspondent says the rebels are under intense diplomatic pressure to return to peace talks in time for a major donors conference in Japan a month from now.

But the rebels have said they will see what progress there is in the next week before making a final decision.

Efforts are on for a resumption of talks and what is clearly ruled out is a resumption of war

Government spokesman GL Peiris

The most immediate issues were the resettlement of refugees and implementing infrastructure projects, Mr Peiris said.

"The picture that is emerging is encouraging. There is no question of a resumption of violence," he told reporters in the capital, Colombo.

"We have every expectation that once some practical matters are sorted out, it will be possible to get it all started again."

Killings

The Tamil Tigers suspended participation in the peace process last month, complaining the government was trying to marginalise them in negotiations.

Government: "No question" of a return to war

A Norwegian peace mediator, Erik Solheim, met the rebels on Thursday in an attempt to break the current impasse.

On Wednesday, international peace monitors sharply criticised the Tigers.

A statement said that a spate of killings of politicians and paramilitary figures, most of which have been blamed on the rebels, posed a serious threat to the ceasefire.

Mr Peiris said the killings were "unacceptable" but avoided apportioning blame.

Child soldiers

Meanwhile, the United Nations Children's Fund has said the rebels are recruiting fewer child soldiers.

The number of reported cases of child recruitment had declined each month since the beginning of 2003, Unicef said.

There were just eight cases in April, down from 92 in January.

"We still haven't seen significant releases of children, but we're hoping that will change once relief mechanisms are in place," Unicef official Sarah Lendon said.