Tamil Tigers won't disband suicide squad

The Tamil Tigers today refused to disband its dreaded suicide bomb squad, but reiterated it was committed to peace while negotiating an end to Sri Lanka’s 19-year civil war.

On Wednesday, Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s office said she wants the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam to disband the Black Tigers - responsible for many political assassinations – to show sincerity about peace.

Kumaratunga is a staunch political rival of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe, whose government is leading the peace talks with the Tamil Tigers in a bid to end the ethnic war between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamils. The war has claimed nearly 65,000 lives.

Tamil Tiger chief negotiator Anton Balasingham said before entering the final session of the current round of peace talks in Thailand that Kumaratunga’s demand is irrelevant since no fighting has taken place following the ceasefire last February.