Sri Lankan peace talks on hold

Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran at Thursday's talks

Sri Lanka's peace process is on hold until the country's political crisis is resolved, Norwegian mediators say.

Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen made the remarks on Friday after talks with Tamil Tiger rebels.

Norway has played a key part in brokering talks between the government and the Tigers to end years of bloody civil war in which thousands have died.

Differences over the talks have caused a deep crisis between Sri Lanka's president and prime minister.

The talks were suspended in April after the rebels pulled out, claiming they were being sidelined.

We will go home and wait... We have no intention of abandoning the peace process, but there are limits to what we can do Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen

President Chandrika Kumaratunga said in a statement following Mr Helgesen's remarks that she wanted peace talks to continue.

But the president, who has been deeply critical of the handling of the peace process, did not say whether she would take control of the talks from her rival, Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe.

Clarity needed

The envoy's visit, which took place at a secret location, was originally intended to arrange fresh peace talks between rebels and the government.

Troops patrol Colombo's streets, amid doubts over the peace process

Mr Helgesen told journalists after meeting the Tigers' leader Velupillai Prabhakaran that the rebels felt they needed some clarity about who was in charge of the peace process.

"We need to make clear that the ceasefire will be much more difficult to sustain in a political vacuum," he said in a statement.

"Peace talks could have started tomorrow, provided there were clarity about who is holding political authority.

"Until clarity is re-established, there is no space for further efforts by the Norwegian government to assist the parties."

Mr Wickramasinghe, who revived a peace bid with Tamil rebels in 2001, is effectively "out of the peace process" due to his feud with the president, Mr Helgesen said, according to AFP news agency.

The envoy said there was now considerable concern on the part of the international community about Sri Lanka's peace process.

There are also fears about the fate of $4.5bn worth of international aid pledged for reconstruction which is tied to progress in the talks.

Ceasefire holding

The leader of the Tigers' political wing, S Thamilselvan, said he was seeking guarantees from the Norwegians that the Sri Lankan Government would continue with its commitment to the ceasefire agreement.

We do not want war S Thamilselvan senior Tamil Tiger

He told the Norwegians that there should be political stability for the peace talks to continue.

President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Wickramasinghe have sharply differing views on how to negotiate with the Tamil Tigers.

Last week those differences burst into a full-scale political crisis when Mrs Kumaratunga sacked three ministers in Mr Wickramasinghe's cabinet and suspended parliament, accusing the prime minister of conceding too much to the rebels.

The Norwegian mediators passed on to the Tigers guarantees from both the president and the prime minister that they would abide by the ceasefire that came into force in February 2002.

The Norwegians also took a number of messages from the rebels back to the government in the south about practical issues such as security guarantees for Tamil Tiger political workers inside government controlled territory.

The BBC's Frances Harrison in Colombo says that although the Tigers have been diplomatic in not taking sides in the current political crisis, it is clear they fear the peace process is on hold until there's some clear resolution of the situation there.

Peace 'threatened'

Presidential advisers have rejected a recent proposal from the Tigers for interim power sharing, saying it cannot be the sole basis for future negotiations.

The president and prime minister are at odds

And Prime Minister Wickramasinghe has said the peace process he initiated with the rebels has been badly damaged by the president's decision to assume powers over defence and suspend parliament.

The president and prime minister have agreed to meet again to try to defuse the political stalemate after they held inconclusive talks on Wednesday.

More than 60,000 people have died in violence in Sri Lanka since the Tigers launched their fight for a homeland for minority Tamils in the island's north and east in 1983.