Tigers postpone crucial press meet

[TamilNet, Sunday, 24 April 2005, 17:36 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers said Sunday they are indefinitely postponing a crucial press conference scheduled for Tuesday in Kilinochchi. Informed sources said that the press meet was intended to explain the LTTE’s stand on the proposed Joint Mechanism for Tsunami reconstruction in the island’s northeast province. The indefinite postponement of the press conference added fuel to speculation in Colombo that a compromise on the Joint Mechanism is floundering on strident opposition by President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s main coalition partner Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna.

The Tigers gave no reason for the indefinite postponement of the international press conference in Kilinochchi.

Sinhala opposition to a deal between Ms. Kumaratunga and the LTTE reached new levels this week after ‘Lankadeepa’, the Sinhala daily with the largest circulation in Sri Lanka revealed an alleged off the record statement by Norway’s special peace envoy, Mr. Eric Solheim that there was ninety nine percent agreement between Colombo and LTTE on the ‘Tsunami Joint Mechanism’.