Tamil Tigers drop statehood claim

Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels have abandoned for the first time their ambitions for a separate state, in a clear sign their 19-year war with Colombo may be coming to an end.

The surprise concession came after three days of talks in Thailand with the Sri Lankan government, when the rebels said they would be satisfied with a form of regional autonomy.

Anton Balasingham, the chief negotiator of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), said: "We demand the recognition of our homeland. When we say homeland it doesn't mean separate state as such. It refers to a territory where the Muslims and Tamil people live. We mean the concept entails substantial autonomy or self-government in our homeland; or in the historical areas where we live."

But after the first face-to-face peace talks in seven years, brokered by Norway and held at a naval base in Thailand, Mr Balasingham insisted the LTTE would not lay down its weapons until a permanent agreement was reached. Failing that, he said, "we have the right to fight for independence and statehood. I hope that situation may not arise."

He said autonomy could be federal, confederal or regional, and a suitable model would be worked out during future talks, again to be held in Thailand, in October, December and January.

The government's chief negotiator welcomed Mr Balasingham's remarks. "The government is certainly pleased about it," he said, adding that the LTTE's aspirations "can be fulfilled within one country if we set about it in the proper way".

Both sides have set up a panel to resettle 1.6 million people displaced in a war that threatened to break up the island state. More than 64,500 people have been killed since 1983. The two sides have asked international donors for immediate funding for humanitarian work, particularly clearing land mines.