Colombo: As part of its efforts to resolve the 25-year-old ethnic conflict, Sri Lankan government may invite the LTTE for direct talks after the report on devolution package is accepted by all political parties and then ratified by a referendum.

"Once the new proposals were ready and accepted by all democratic establishments in the country, they would have to be ratified by a referendum," Presidential advisor and parliamentarian Basil Rajapakse said.

"After they were ratified, the government would invite the LTTE for direct talks based on the proposals," he was quoted as saying by the Daily Mirror newspaper.

Rajapakse, the younger brother of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse, said the government would present a new set of proposals to the LTTE based on the Mahinda Chintana, the plan unveiled by the President towards building a new Sri Lanka.

Basil Rajapakse said the proposals would be drafted taking into consideration the sentiments of all stakeholders in the conflict, especially those of the Tamil, Muslim and Sinhala civic organisations in the north and the east besides the Pro-Tamil Tamil National Alliance (TNA) party.

The new proposals would be made ready soon after the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) submits its report to President Rajapakse. The committee is expected to submit its report by the end of this month, he added.

People in the north and east must realise that they cannot achieve peace if the LTTE resorts to violence in the south.

Source : PTI