Nakhon Pathom (Thailand): Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan government wound up their second round of "highly successful" peace talks on November 3 with major breakthroughs aimed at resolving the nearly two decade-long ethnic conflict and agreeing to begin talks on sharing power.

A joint statement, issued at the end of the four-day meeting at the Rose Garden resort, said the two sides are committed to accommodate the needs and aspirations of all three communities in the East, Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese.

The two parties agreed on immediate measures to improve the security situation, inter-ethnic co-operation and respect for Human Rights in the North and East, the statement said.

A significant progress at the talks was the agreement on discussing sharing of power. "The parties acknowledged that the peace talks must address a series of complex political issues in order to reach a negotiated solution to the ethnic conflict, including Constitutional, legal, political and administrative issues," the statement said.

A sub-committee is to be set up to look into relevant political matters. It will be chaired by the heads of delegations to the peace talks, Anton Balasingham and G L Peiris.

Peiris, who is also Lanka's Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, will be assisted by Cabinet Minister Rauf Hakeem, leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress.

PTI