Chandrika asks Tigers to lay down weapons

President Chandrika Kumaratunga has welcomed the outcome of the donor conference in Oslo, Norway, while calling on Tamil Tiger rebels to renounce violence and lay down arms, echoing a U.S. appeal which the guerrillas have rejected.

President Kumaratunga's official spokesman Harim Peiris, reacting for the first time to the Oslo conference told journalists yesterday that the president was satisfied with the outcome of the meeting and was happy the issue about renouncing of violence being taken up.

"It would be a very important confidence-building measure and a step in the right direction if the decommissioning of weapons was to be on the agenda," Peiris told a news conference.

"Disarming needs to be preceded by a renunciation of violence and terrorism."

The spokesman said that the government should press for the disarming of the guerrillas of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and it was the right time to press for such demand, if they (government) wanted the talks to progress well.

Peiris said that the statement of the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage calling the LTTE to renounce violence was welcomed by the President as the issue was one which the President was pressing for.

He said that calling the guerrillas to give up their demand for a separate state was in consonance with Kumaratunga's call that this issue should be taken up for debate.

The outcome at the Oslo meeting where Sri Lanka was able to gain $63 million has been somewhat overshadowed by a statement made by chief Tamil rebel negotiator Anton Balasingham that the guerrillas were not prepared to make a statement renouncing violence.

Balasingham reacting to comments made by Armitage that "Tactics of terror can never achieve legitimate aspirations," said that he did not agree with the U.S. comments.

"When the aspirations of our people are met by a political settlement, the violence will automatically come to an end," Balasingham had said reacting to the U.S. appeal for a pledge to end violence.

Many of the local newspapers, except the state-run newspapers have highlighted Balasingham's reaction. The Daily Mirror ran Balasingham's reaction as the lead story under the headline 'LTTE rejects end-violence call' while the Island newspaper ran the story under banner headlines saying ' LTTE rejects no violence pledge'.

Two of the main Sinhala language newspapers also carried lead stories on the issue, while downplaying the aid pledge made by the international community.