Sri Lanka peace talks 'next month'

The Sri Lankan Government expects peace talks with Tamil Tiger rebels to resume in September, its top negotiator says.

GL Peiris said he was hopeful that a crucial rebel meeting in Paris next week would end more than three months of deadlock.

The last round of peace talks took place in March

The Tigers pulled out of negotiations in April saying they wanted a greater role in administering the island's north-east.

Meanwhile, the US Government has accused the Tigers of undermining confidence in the peace process.

A statement by the US Embassy in Colombo said: "The United States calls on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to renounce terrorism and cease terrorist acts, including political assassination, and to comply with the terms of the ceasefire agreement they signed."

The Tigers came in for further criticism from leading international human rights groups.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said there was convincing evidence the rebels were conducting a "systematic campaign to silence opposition voices".

At least 22 people with links to Tamil political parties opposed to the Tamil Tigers had been killed since a February 2002 ceasefire was agreed, the groups said in a statement.

Power sharing

The rebels will consult legal advisers in Paris to decide a response to the government's proposed interim administration for the region.

"The LTTE will be meeting with their legal and constitutional experts in Paris in the next few days and give us their response," Mr Peiris said.

"We hope the peace talks can start towards the latter part of September."

The United States calls on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to renounce terrorism and cease terrorist acts, including political assassination, and to comply with the terms of the ceasefire agreement they signed. US Embassy in Colombo

He said a venue for the next round of talks had not been decided but that the government was in discussions with a number of countries.

The government published power-sharing proposals in July which offered the Tigers financial, political and administrative authority in a provisional administration for the north and east of the island.

But the Tigers have yet to officially respond to the proposals.

Since the ceasefire was agreed, the two sides have held six rounds of peace talks during which the Tigers agreed to drop their long-standing demand for a separate state.

Over 60,000 people have been killed in the conflict in Sri Lanka which began in 1983.