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K Venkataramanan in Colombo
Sri Lanka on Friday announced it would lift the ban on the Liberation of Tigers of Tamil Eelam 10 days before the exact date for beginning direct talks with the rebels and said setting up an interim regime for the northeast would be the focus of such talks, along with steps to ensure human rights under it.
"Once the date for talks in Thailand is fixed, the government will lift the ban 10 days before the commencement of talks. The legal framework for de-proscription will be taken up for discussion when Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe returns from India," Cabinet spokesman G L Peiris said.
The government's announcement may clear one major hurdle that has delayed direct talks with the LTTE, but it remains to be seen if the rebel group accepts the link between lifting the ban and fixing a date for talks.
The LTTE is also unhappy that the government had last week sought to include core political issues underlying the ethnic conflict in the agenda for the Thailand negotiations, but the government spokesman's affirmation that the interim set up would be the main focus may allay its fears.
Wickremesinghe leaves for India on Saturday on a four-day trip to apprise Indian leaders, including President K R Narayanan, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and leader of the opposition Sonia Gandhi, about the status of his peace initiative and to discuss trade-related matters.
The establishment of an interim administration along with issues related to maintenance of human rights would certainly be the focus of the talks.
Setting up an interim administration is looked at as a major instrument to develop the war-ravaged northeast region, as well as to accelerate economic growth for the country as a whole, Peiris said.
There is no specific date for the talks fixed so far, said Peiris, when asked whether they would begin in late June or early July as scheduled. We hope to start the talks in the near future, he added.
The parties were now working on preparing an agenda for the talks with the help of Norwegian peace facilitators.
Various issues would form part of the agenda, but priority would be decided later, he said.
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