The President of Sri Lanka, Chandrika Kumaratunga, has ruled out peace talks with the rebel Tamil Tigers for the time being.

President Kumaratunga told the Indian daily newspaper, the Hindu, that she had stalled all discussions, especially after the killing of the moderate Tamil politician, Neelam Tiruchelvam, three months ago.

However the president, who less than a week ago, said it was imperative to achieve a negotiated settlement to the 16-year-old conflict, appears to be giving out mixed messages.

Stalled

Whatever the government's latest pronouncement, the peace process has in effect been stalled for sometime.

There has been no known recent contact between the Tigers and the government, although three Catholic bishops did visit the Tiger controlled Wanni region.

The Foreign Minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar, has said he believed there would be talks with the Tigers, but not immediately.

The only long standing proposal aimed at peace was the government's devolution package giving limited autonomy to the north and east.

It was due to be presented in parliament although the government seemed unlikely to get the two-thirds majority needed to push it through.

Assassination

However the murder of Neelam Tiruchelvam, one of the architects of the package, by a suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bomber in July, led to the package being shelved.

Mr Tiruchelvam was killed by a suicide bomber

Some analysts say that by referring to Mr Tiruchelvam's death in her newspaper interview, President Kumaratunga could be trying to win over the moderate Tamil vote which may be crucial in upcoming elections.

However, while his death caused an outcry in the international community, Tamils in Sri Lanka were accused of remaining silent.

The president's remarks come just a few days after she wrote to the leader of the opposition United National Party, Ranil Wickremasinghe.

She asked for his concrete proposals to end what she called the single most destructive problem the people have had to face in their thousands of years of history. Mr Wickremasinghe has yet to answer.

The business community, among others, has tried to bring the government and opposition together to take a bipartisan approach to ending the fighting.