02 March 2004	Tuesday	10 Muharram 1425

COLOMBO, March 1: A moderate Tamil political party alliance, backed by the Tamil Tigers, on Monday sought lifting of the ban on the Tigers imposed by several countries.

The Tamil National Alliance released its election manifesto and said that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels have been engaged in peace talks with the Sri Lankan government despite provocation by the government troops.

The governments of India, US and Britain have outlawed the Tamil Tigers. However, just hours before the release of the manifesto in the northern city of Jaffna, the Tigers faced accusations of gunning down a Tamil candidate in the eastern province representing the ruling United National Party.

Sinnathamby Sundarampillai, 63, who was slightly wounded when unidentified assailants shot at him on Saturday night had two men visiting him at the Batticaloa Hospital during the early hours of Monday.