The daring air attack by Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels has underscored the need to wipe out the rebels' military assets and not pursue any kind negotiations with them, a top official of the island nation said on Wednesday.
Dayan Jayatilleka, an advisor to President Mahinda Rajapakse and the man tipped to be Sri lanka's next Ambassador to the UN mission in Geneva, said in an open letter that there can be no more negotiations.
"The fundamental lessons of the Tiger air raid are quite the opposite of those that will be drawn by the appeasers and their patrons in the West," Jayatilleka wrote.
"These elements will say that the raid proves that a military victory over the LTTE is impossible and that only a peaceful negotiated settlement is feasible. I would argue the exact opposite. The air raid demonstrates the utter impossibility of peaceful coexistence between a militarised Tiger-controlled territory and the Sri Lankan state," he added.
His remarks follow comments by Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollegama on Tuesday that the government was still willing to talk with the Tigers.
However, Bogollegama qualified his remarks saying that the government was not making a new offer or launching a new initiative to resume talks which remain deadlocked since October last year.