Sri Lanka's Tigers start talks

An attack on Colombo airport shattered tourism

Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels are holding talks on Friday with Norwegian negotiators in a renewed bid to end the country's long-running civil war.

The Tigers have asked for Norway's "continuous engagement" in efforts to start talks with the new government which is committed to reviving the peace process.

Both the Tigers and the Sri Lankan military are currently observing a ceasefire in a conflict estimated to have cost more than 64,000 lives.

On Wednesday, the government announced a major easing of an economic embargo on rebel-held areas in the north of the country.

The move met a key demand of the Tamil Tigers.

Tigers ban

The Tigers' senior negotiator, Anton Balasingham is in the UK capital, London, where he met Norway's Deputy Foreign Minister, Vidar Helgesen.

Later, Norwegian spokeswoman Gry Haaheim told Associated Press that Mr Helgesen "sounded pleased" about the meeting.

She added the talks had been "constructive".

Officially the Tamil Tigers are a banned organisation in the UK following recent anti-terrorist legislation introduced in the wake of the 11 September attacks on America.

Economic havoc

The success of Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe's United National Party in last month's parliamentary elections opened the possibility of ending the long-running stalemate between the military and the rebels.

Negotiations broke down last June after the previous government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga accused Norway of bias towards the Tamils.

The current ceasefire began on 24 December and is due to last one month.

Wickramasinghe hopes to end the stalemate

It is the first time for seven years that both sides have observed a halt in hostilities.

The Tigers' campaign for self-determination for the country's Tamil minority has wreaked havoc on Sri Lanka's economy.

The government has been spending more than $850m a year on the war effort, and has more than 100,000 troops deployed in the battle against the Tigers.

Last July the Tigers carried out one of their most audacious raids.

Their attack on the country's only international airport in the capital, Colombo, and an adjacent military base left at least 18 people dead.

It again shattered confidence in the island's vital tourist industry.