President Chandrika Kumaratunga of Sri Lanka has urged the Tamil Tiger (LTTE) rebels to enter talks to end decades of fighting as her country marked the 52nd anniversary of its independence.

In a nationwide televised speech, the president said a negotiated peace was now within reach.

"The LTTE has a vital role to play in concluding this extended sadness for the Tamil people," President Kumaratunga said.

"The LTTE must also recognise that assassinating Sinhala and Tamil leaders and innocent citizens can never resolve the problem of the Tamil people or the minorities," she added.

President Kumaratunga has been pushing a devolution package as a possible solution to the Tigers' demands for a separate Tamil homeland in the north and the east.

A truce was declared shortly after she took power in 1994, but collapsed after 100 days. There has been no reaction by the Tamil Tigers to the latest offer.

The devolution plan was first unveiled in 1995 but failed to muster the requisite two-thirds majority in parliament that would allow it to come into effect.

However, last month the main opposition United National Party said it was willing to back the plan, although opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said he did not believe it would work.

Independence day

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka marked the anniversary of its independence from British colonial rule amid tight security.

President Kumaratunga, who was due to unfurl the national flag in the national parliament, stayed at home because she was unwell.

The speaker of the parliament, KB Ratnayake, filled in for the president.

Reports say the celebrations have been low key because of security concerns after bombs exploded in three buses on Thursday, wounding some 33 people.

Thousands of police and troops patrolled the capital Colombo and set up road blocks and check points across the city.