A British envoy was holding talks with Sri Lanka's Tiger rebels Thursday to help salvage a faltering peace initiative, while in the capital the president wooed moderate Tamils, officials said.
British MP Paul Murphy toured the violence-hit port city of Trincomalee Wednesday and began talks with Tamil Tiger guerrillas at the rebel-held town of Kilinochchi on Thursday, diplomats said.
As the visiting envoy engaged the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), their proxies, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) met with President Mahinda Rajapakse separately in Colombo, a spokesman for the president's office said.
The TNA, which consists of legislators who have never taken up arms but accept the political line of Tamil Tiger rebels, discussed current developments with Rajapakse, spokesman Chandrapala Liyanage said.
Rajapakse invited British police to help investigate last week's assassination of TNA legislator Nadarajah Raviraj, 44, who was gunned down on a busy highway here last Friday during the morning rush hour.
Details of Rajapakse's talks with the TNA were not immediately known, but Liyanage said the slaying, as well as the peace process and the annual budget to be unveiled by the president later Thursday, were discussed.
Murphy's visit comes after British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Rajapakse met in August to discuss ways the former colonial ruler could support the Norwegian-led peace process here.
Murphy arrived Tuesday to meet Sri Lankan leaders during his three-day visit and share his experiences of the Northern Ireland peace process, a British High Commission official said.
"There are similarities here and the thing to keep in mind is that war is not the answer," Murphy told reporters before travelling to Trincomalee Thursday.
"The parties realised this and it led to the Good Friday agreements (in Northern Ireland)."
Murphy was the cabinet minister responsible for Northern Ireland affairs between 2002 and 2005 and was closely involved in the Northern Ireland peace process.
He is currently the chairman of the British Intelligence and Security Committee.
The visit follows the failure of talks between the government and the LTTE in Geneva last month, aimed at moving forward the peace talks that began in September 2002.
Analysts have expressed fears that Sri Lanka could slide back to full-scale war despite international pressure on both sides to respect and uphold the February 2002 truce.
Despite the cease-fire, fighting has escalated in Sri Lanka in the past year, with more than 3,300 people killed in violent clashes, according to official figures.
Sri Lanka won independence from Britain in 1948 and Tiger rebels began their campaign for an independent homeland for the island's minority Tamils in 1972.
Since then, more than 60,000 people have been killed in the separatist conflict.