COLOMBO, Aug 5: In a bid to bring the Tamil Tigers back to the negotiating table, fresh power-sharing proposals would be drafted by the government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga shortly, Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera said at a news conference on Thursday.

The proposals will initially deal with humanitarian issues such as resettlement of the displaced in the northeastern areas, Mr Samaraweera said. The government decision comes in the wake of President Kumaratunga quitting her post as chief of the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) amidst speculation that she resigned as she was unable to forge a party consensus on the issue of a permanent settlement with the LTTE.

"It is true that she resigned as UPFA leader because of the peace process. But not because she had party problems about it. Her resignation was based on the fact that as president, she wanted to concentrate on state affairs and specifically on the peace process.

It is under her direct supervision that the new set of proposals to be presented to the LTTE will be drafted," Mr Samaraweera said in answer to questions. The spokesman rejected allegations that President Kumaratunga could not cope with the pressure of getting her party to come to a decision with regard to the peace process.

"We are drafting an alternative set of proposals because we cannot in principle accept the proposals of the LTTE. We hope to get a consensus on it shortly," Mr Samaraweera said, adding that the proposals would be an alternative to the LTTE's controversial "interim self-governing authority proposals dismissed by the government as a blueprint for a separate state.