Colombo: Sri Lanka's main Muslim party has come to an understanding with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) on the status of its leader at this month's direct talks between the government and the rebel group in Thailand.

Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) leader Rauff Hakeem, a Cabinet Minister in the Ranil Wickremesinghe Administration, will initially be part of the government delegation when talks open in a Naval base in Thailand on September 16, but will represent his party and community in subsequent rounds of negotiations.

This was decided at a meeting between Hakeem and LTTE chief negotiator Anton Balasingham in London on September 3 night, the Norwegian government said in a statement.

They also touched upon the present situation in the North East and the status of the ceasefire agreement in force, the statement said.

They agreed on a "new broader meeting" between the LTTE leadership and the SLMC in the rebel-held Vanni region after the first round of talks, it said.

Hakeem's presence as a Muslim representative will mean that the talks will have a tripartite structure rather than a bilateral one involving the government and the LTTE. This will be in accordance with an agreement between LTTE leader V Prabhakaran and Hakeem signed on April 13.

Doubts about Hakeem's status arose after the LTTE seemed to favour his participation only when issues concerning Muslims were taken up at the negotiating table, and not at the initial stage, when the focus will only be on restoring normalcy in the north- east and resettlement of displaced people.

PTI