Chandrika Kumaratunga

Colombo, Aug. 4 (Reuters): Sri Lanka’s President quit as leader of the ruling alliance today as confusion grew over the government’s stand on long-stalled peace talks with Tamil Tiger rebels.

The resignation by Chandrika Kumaratunga, which does not affect her role as President, comes after state media said she backtracked on her offer to hold peace talks on the rebels’ terms. She said the media reports were wrong.

Kumaratunga told Norwegian envoy Vidar Helgesen last week she would hold talks on the LTTE proposal for interim self-rule, meeting their longstanding demand to restart the peace process.

Today, she said in a statement that “the government’s stance on the resumption of peace talks with the LTTE remains unchanged”.

The media reports, her denial and now her decision to quit as head of the alliance have led to further doubts about the ability of the United People’s Freedom Alliance to form a coherent position on the peace process.

There is speculation her resignation is a result of her frustration over the alliance’s inability to formulate a strategy about restarting talks to end the island’s 21-year civil war. Her office, however, said the resignation was due to overwork and had nothing to do with politics.

Direct negotiations between the government and the rebels stalled in April last year, and a change in government, factional fighting within the LTTE and increasing violations of the island’s February 2002 ceasefire have complicated efforts to get back to the negotiating table.

Today’s confusion is likely to deepen the Tigers’ distrust of Kumaratunga, who they tried to kill in a 1999 suicide bomb attack and who they have repeatedly accused of being insincere about the peace bid. There was no immediate comment from the Tigers on the issue, but the rebel-backed Tamil National Alliance has said it wants a written commitment from Kumaratunga on her position before it will believe she is sincere.

“The position that stands is the one taken after the Helgesen visit,” presidential spokesman Harim Peiris said.

But he said the statement issued at that time said Kumaratunga was “willing and keen to commence negotiations on an interim authority,” adding that did not necessarily mean the Tigers’ interim authority proposals, but the principle of an interim authority more generally.

To add to the confusion, a second statement posted on a government website said the President would hold talks on the LTTE proposal “alongside the talks to reach a final solution” to the war that killed more than 64,000.