Sri Lanka rebels reject laying down arms for talks

By Shihar Aneez and Ranga Sirilal

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's Tamil rebels have rejected a request to lay down or decommission their weapons before peace talks, saying they can still win the war against government forces.

The government said last week it would only reconsider re-starting a peace process if the rebels agreed to lay down or decommission their weapons and issued a clear timetable for negotiations.

But Balasingham Nadesan, the rebels' political head, said laying down arms could weaken their bargaining power at any talks.

"Any approach that disturbs the balance of power and parity of status (between the government and rebels) are counter-productive to the peace process," Nadesan said in an email interview with Reuters.

"The balance of power and the parity of status are very crucial for any meaningful negotiations."

The government request came after the rebels said last week they wanted to meet Norwegian peace brokers to resume a stalled peace process.

The government formally ended a tattered truce with the rebels in January, ramping up the civil war in which more than 70,000 people have died since 1983.

The government said the rebels use visits by peace envoys as propaganda.