Tamil Tigers 'may return to war'

The Tamil Tiger leader says his people are living in a political void

Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels have threatened to return to war unless the government agrees to peace talks based on a rebel blueprint for self-rule.

Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran said he had "reached the limits of patience", during an annual radio broadcast to mark the rebels' war dead.

He said government delays on discussing rebel demands would leave them "no alternative" to the "freedom struggle".

President Chandrika Kumaratunga last week urged the rebels to compromise.

We have no alternative other than to advance the freedom struggle of our nation Velupillai Prabhakaran

A ceasefire between the two sides has remained largely intact since February 2002, even though the Tigers pulled out of negotiations in April last year, saying the government was not honouring pledges it had made.

The Tigers have been fighting for more than two decades for self-government in the north and east, which they consider the Tamil homeland.

More than 60,000 people have been killed in the course of the conflict.

In his radio speech, delivered from the rebel-held north, Mr Prabhakaran called on the government to end the deadlock in the Norwegian-backed peace talks.

Lasting peace

He said: "If the government of Sri Lanka rejects our urgent appeal and adopts delaying tactics, perpetuating the suffering of our people, we have no alternative other than to advance the freedom struggle of our nation."

He urged the government in Colombo to resume negotiations "without conditions, based on our proposal for an interim self-governing authority".

The Tigers pulled out of direct talks in April last year

A presidential spokesman said the government would issue a formal reply to Mr Prabhakaran's address on Monday.

The deadlock is over the rebels' demand that interim self-rule should be in place before a permanent solution is reached.

The government, on the other hand, insists the Tigers must agree to discuss lasting peace before any deal on self-rule can be made.

Mr Prabhakaran said the situation had left the Tamil people in a "political void without war, without a stable peace, without the conditions of normalcy, without an interim or a permanent solution to the ethnic conflict".

Analysts say it is unlikely the government will be able to agree to the rebels' demands.

Since the talks stalled last year a number of attempts by Norwegian mediators have failed to restart the negotiation process.