'Lanka open to peace talks with LTTE'

Colombo: The Sri Lankan government on Friday asked the LTTE to lay down arms and initiate peace talks, hours after the security forces captured the strategic Elephant Pass in Jaffna Peninsula from the Tamil Tigers.

"If the LTTE lay down their arms, then the doors are open for them to talk peace with the government," Cabinet spokesman and Media and Information Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said.

The recent ban on the LTTE by the government does not in any way deprive the outfit from entering the democratic process for a negotiated political solution to the conflict in the island, if they are prepared to lay down their arms, he said.

Lankan troops capture Elephant Pass, take control of A9

"The government has made fervent appeals on humanitarian grounds to the innocent civilian (population) trapped in the Wanni (region) to exit from the clutches of the LTTE, and enter the government-controlled territory," the minister said.

However, he charged that the LTTE was deliberately obstructing the innocent civilians from doing so and forcefully retaining and utilising them as human shields.

The minister said Parliament would have an opportunity of reviewing the situation on a monthly basis.

His remarks came hours after the capture of the Elephant Pass, the key rebel bastion in Jaffna Peninsula, by security forces.

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