LTTE delegation to return home as talks collapse

Colombo, Oct 30 (UNI) After the failure of the two-day talks with the Sri Lankan government in Geneva, the negotiating team of the Tamil Tiger rebels has decided to return to Wanni, its homeland.

According to the pro-LTTE Sankathi. com website, the LTTE delegation, led by its political wing head S P Thamilselvan, has decided to cancel its planned visit to Oslo to meet some of its ''foreign constitutional and legal experts'' and to return to the rebel-heartland of Wanni within a couple of days.

The warring parties, which went to Geneva without a common agenda for talks, failed to agree even on the next round of talks.

At the end of the abortive talks, Norway's top peace envoy and Minister of International Development Eric Solheim said although the two-day discussions between parties focused on the need to address urgent humanitarian situation, mainly in the Northern Jaffna peninsula, ''no agreement was reached between them on how to address the humanitarian crisis''.

''No date for a new meeting was agreed upon,'' he said, urging the parties ''not to draw hasty conclusions or take actions that could increase the suffering of civilians in Sri Lanka''.

The parties held deliberations on the urgent humanitarian situation and the need to address the plight of a very large number of civilians. Several issues were discussed. The LTTE requested the A9 to be opened. The Government refused to do so at this point. No agreement was reached between them on how to address the humanitarian crisis, sources said.

UNI XC SB VA BS1526