First Sri Lankan rebel talks held

The road dubbed the 'highway of death' because of the number of people who died alongside it

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (CNN) -- A senior Sri Lankan government official and Tamil Tiger rebels have held face-to-face talks for the first time in seven years.

Defense Ministry officials have confirmed that Bernard Gunatilake, the head of the peace secretariat that is coordinating the government's peace drive with Norway, was flown Tuesday to rebel-held territory in the north of the country for the talks.

He arrived there in a military helicopter with a delegation and held talks for several hours.

The senior official is now briefing Sri Lanka's prime minister on the meeting.

Talk involved the implementation of the cease-fire agreement both sides signed in Feburary.

The Tamil Tigers have been fighting for an independent homeland in the north and east of the island nation, near India.

The meeting was to discuss matters concerning a key highway that links the northern Tamil heartland with the rest of the country, to pave the way for increased trade and free movement of people, Associated Press reported an official as saying.

Bus route

The road was opened last month as part of a cease-fire agreement signed between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam on February 22. The agreement was brokered by Norway.

A dispute has arisen, however, about a public bus service that runs through the rebel territory. The Scandinavian monitors said that the two parties had to resolve the matter.

As a result, the first direct talks in seven years between the two warring parties were held much earlier than the formal peace talks that were planned in June in Thailand.

The rebels have been fighting since 1983 for a separate homeland for the Tamil minority, claiming discrimination by the Sinhalese majority. More than 64,500 people have been killed in the conflict.