Fernando has described the call by the rebels to disarm other armed groups as "a ridiculous suggestion".

The Inspector General of Police in an interview with the Daily Mirror newspaper said: "A terrorist group cannot demand other armed groups be disarmed, and they do not have any right to make such a demand."

Fernando said as long as the LTTE remains a terrorist group it cannot demand that another armed group be disarmed.

He, however, maintained it was the responsibility of the government to disarm all armed groups and that includes the LTTE. More...

Discuss this story Published: Mon Mar 13 21:34:26 EST 2006

Sri Lanka, a small island state just southeast of the Indian subcontinent, received independence from England in 1948, created democratic rule, and experienced years of progress before spiraling downward.

Now regarded as a failed state, Sri Lanka's 20 million people comprise two major ethnic groups. The Sinhalese, mostly Buddhists, form 74 percent of the country, while the minority Tamils, religious Hindus, represent another 15 percent. Sri Lanka also has a significant Muslim community.

Civil war between the Sinhalese-dominated Colombo government and rebel Tamils in the north of the island, ongoing since 1983, disrupts everyday life and also impedes initiatives to remove the underlying causes of violence.

Disaffected Tamils in the north represent two-thirds of the Tamil population. Some, organized and known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, regularly engage in both military and terrorist offensives against government forces. More...

Discuss this story Published: Mon Mar 13 20:37:15 EST 2006

``The Geneva peace talks will face grave danger if the Sri Lanka government refuses to disarm Tamil paramilitary organizations and continues allowing them to launch offensive military operations against our military positions ,'' pro-rebel TamilNet Web site quoted chief rebel peace negotiator Anton Balasingham as saying.

``These offensive military operations have taken place after the Geneva peace talks, where the government had pledged to uphold the obligations of the cease-fire agreement,'' Balasingham said.

He said government armed forces have backed groups opposed to the Tamil Tigers in attacking his group's members.

``The involvement of the armed forces in the operations of Tamil paramilitaries constitutes a serious breach of the spirit of the Geneva talks, and also must be considered as an act of bad faith on the part of the government.''

Government and Tamil Tiger representatives met in Geneva for talks last month in their first direct meeting in nearly three years to discuss ways to properly implement a four-year-old cease-fire.

The Norway-brokered truce was on verge of collapse then, with a sudden escalation of violence since December killed 150 people including 81 government security personnel.

The government blamed the Tigers for the attacks while the rebels accused the government of waging a subversive war against them.

In Geneva both sides agreed to scale down violence and meet again in April.

The military has however denied any connection with groups against the Tigers.

The rebels have fought the government since 1983, demanding a separate homeland for Sri Lanka's ethnic Tamil minority, alleging discrimination at the hands of majority Sinhalese-majority state.

More than 65,000 people were killed in the conflict before the cease-fire in 2002. Discuss this story Published: Mon Mar 13 11:07:41 EST 2006