Diplomatic sources said here today that it was very likely that the LTTE would boycott a session of peace talks protesting the sinking of their ship, which they claimed as a ‘merchant vessel’.

The Navy says they have confirmed that the LTTE’s flagless ship contained a large stock of arms and explosives.

President Chandrika Kumaratunga has already urged Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to take up the issue of arms smuggling by the LTTE at the forthcoming talks.

Meanwhile, LTTE Peace Secretariat Chief Kumaran Pulidevan had written to the Norwegian facilitators and the Japanese government yesterday, confirming its participation in the talks despite widespread reports the Tigers might withdraw in protest against last Monday's attack on a vessel.

LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran's failure to meet the visiting Norwegian peace envoy Vidar Helgesen on Thursday triggered speculation that the LTTE was considering a withdrawal from next week's session of peace talks.

"Our leader could not meet Mr. Helgesen because he was busy consulting the Central Committee members on Thursday. The Central Committee decided that the LTTE should not withdraw from the peace process over the sinking of the ship," the spokesman said.

The LTTE team for the Hakone talks will comprise Anton Balasingham, Adele Balasingham, Political Leader S. P. Thamilselvan, Vinayagamoorth Paramu (Karuna), Sivaratnam Prabhagaran (Kumaran Pulidevan), Dr. J. Maheswaran, Perinbanayagam Sivaram, Meenadhi Sundaram and Media Coordinator Suthakaran who will be flying directly from London. Published: Sat Mar 15 07:35:57 EST 2003

The official has told Daily Mirror here that Norway was holding talks with the government and the LTTE as they felt the agreement should be modified in such a manner that would avoid any unnecessary confrontations between the two sides.

"We consider a review of the agreement is necessary in view of certain problems that cropped up during the past one year. For instance, the LTTE says that its merchant vessels should be protected under the ceasefire agreement. This factor was not taken into consideration when we drafted the agreement. New realities call for suitable changes," he said.

Meanwhile, the visiting Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister, Vidar Helgesen yesterday sought an assurance from the LTTE that it would respect the ruling of ceasefire monitors and ensures their safety.

He was commenting on the recent standoff between the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission and the LTTE with regard to the release of two security forces personnel.

The LTTE first agreed to release a soldier and a policeman on the request of the SLMM but delayed the release, citing legal procedures. The LTTE, however, relented with the SLMM insisting on the immediate release of the two soldiers.

Referring to the recent Delft incident where the ceasefire monitors had to jump off an LTTE boat in mid-sea just before three LTTE cadres blew themselves up, Mr. Helgesen said that the safety of the monitors was of paramount importance for the successful implementation of the ceasefire agreement. Published: Sat Mar 15 07:35:56 EST 2003