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The Kumaratunga government will not agree to any of the conditions laid down by Anton Balasingham in his interview with the "Tamil Guardian", said Deputy Minister of Defence, Anuruddha Ratwatte, in Parliament yesterday during the debate on the extension of emergency. In response to Mr. Balasingham's demand for a cease-fire and a withdrawal of troops from Jaffna peninsula before peace talks, minister assured that the government would never withdraw the army from its positions. He said that government would not give into such conditions when talking with the LTTE. LTTE recently launched their attack against the security forces to capture the strategically positioned, Elephant Pass, the gateway to Jaffna, because of the government's determined chance of not to withdrawing troops from the north. Political analysts have shown referring back to past experiences that the Tigers would revert back to their own conditions breaking all the rules once the talks begin, if the government abide by their pre-terms. General Ratwatte also told the House that the LTTE had planned to target a massive assassination against Cabinet Ministers and service personnel, who were due to return from Parliament on March 10. Citing the planned LTTE attack at Rajagiriya on that day and other facts of the Tigers, he urged the Parliament to extend the state of emergency throughout the country. The motion was passed by 96 votes to six with the UNP abstaining.
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