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Army Chief Lt. General Balagalle said on Saturday addressing the Foreign Correspondents Association that the proposed peace talks with the LTTE terrorists under Norwegian facilitation should be held without any cease-fire until a full agreement is signed. Referring to the LTTE he said, "In the event it agrees for talks, we should not stop fighting until an accord is reached covering the vexed issues". "It is up to LTTE rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran to show he is serious about wanting peace before the Sri Lankan military ceases hostilities," he said. General Lionel Balagalle also said that judging from the past experience, the onus is on Prabhakaran to prove that he is genuine. "He has to come out with convincing proposals to prove his sincerity, then he cannot use the talks to his advantage," said Balagalle, who took over command of the army earlier this year. According to the Army Chief, it was pressure from the International Community and recent military setbacks that forced the LTTE leader to meet Norwegian peace envoy Erick Solheim recently. Meanwhile, President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga has also said on Thursday that the door was still open for talks with the LTTE. It is expected that Prabhakaran will comment on the latest developments when he gives his annual speech on November 27, the LTTE's "Martyr's Day". The proposed constitutional changes give minority Tamils more regional autonomy, which President Kumaratunga says is the only viable alternative to the separate Tamil state demanded by the LTTE. However, President Kumaratunga's is confident of getting a two-thirds majority required to push through the new constitution. General Balagalle said the Army has turned the tide after the LTTE's attacks earlier this year putting the military on the defensive in several areas in the North and East. LTTE has lost over 2,100 since the beginning of this year and during the past two months they have lost 491 alone, he said, putting military fatalities at 266 with more than 2,000 wounded since early September, when the latest round of fierce fighting erupted in the country's northern Jaffna Peninsula. "To
prove its sincerity, the LTTE could agree to lay down arms and withdraw
its guerrillas from some areas," he said.
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