November 28, 2002	Thursday	Ramazan 22, 1423

COLOMBO, Nov 27: The leader of Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebel group said on Wednesday that he was prepared to accept regional autonomy for his people, dropping a decades-old demand for independence.

But Velupillai Prabhakaran warned that the separatist struggle would resume if negotiations for regional self-rule broke down.

In a speech broadcast on rebel radio, Prabhakaran said he would “favourably consider a political framework that offers substantial regional autonomy and self-government to the Tamil people on the basis of their right to internal self-determination”.

But he added: “If our demand for regional self-rule based on the right to internal self-determination is rejected, we have no alternative other than to secede and form an independent state.”

The Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) entered into a ceasefire in February and in the first round of peace talks in September the Tigers dropped their demand for independence and instead agreed to regional autonomy and self-government.

But this is the first time that the elusive Prabhakaran, who has not attended the peace talks himself, has commented on the issue.

In his speech broadcast on the Voice of the Tigers radio, marking “Heroes Day” — which commemorates thousands of LTTE fighters killed during the separatist struggle — Prabhakaran said he wanted the negotiations to succeed.

“Our political objective is to ensure that our people should live in freedom and dignity in their homeland, enjoying the right of self-rule,” he said.

“If this political objective could be realized by peaceful means, we are prepared to adopt that method.

“We have never shown any disinclination to win political rights of our people through peaceful means.”

More than 60,000 people have died in three decades of ethnic bloodshed in Sri Lanka as the LTTE fought for a separate homeland for the minority Tamils.

The rebels have carried out 247 suicide bombings since 1987, with victims including former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa.

But after a nine-month ceasefire, the two sides are due to hold their third round of talks next week in Norway.

On Monday at a meeting in Oslo the international community pledged some 60 to 70 million dollars to help rebuild war-torn areas of Sri Lanka.

“The keen interest expressed by the international community on the current peace process and their offer of humanitarian asistance to the war-affected population was encouraging,” the LTTE leader said.

“It is our deepest desire that the current peace talks facilitated by Norway should succeed and all the communities living in the island should coexist in harmony.

“I am prepared to discuss all issues of the conflict. But the talks should be conducted freely without constraints, without conditions, without timeframes.”

The LTTE struggle had “reached a new historical turning point”, he said.

But he accused elements of the armed forces and “anti-peace racist forces” of trying to disrupt the peace process with incidents in which innocent Tamils had been killed.

“Nevertheless, we maintained rigid discipline and observed peace. This is a clear demonstration of our genuine commitment to the path of peace.

“If a reasonable settlement on the Tamil national question could be realized by peaceful means, we will meet every endeavour with honesty and sincerity to pursue that path.”—AFP