The World - News from Dec. 28, 1986
Sri Lankan officials and Tamil rebel representatives met for the first time in 1 1/2 years, but the Tamils demanded the release of 3,000 detainees as a condition for peace talks. The detainees, described as young Tamils, are being held in jails and army camps under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. Many have not been charged. The rebels, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, also want Indian representatives to attend any formal talks. The Tamils, who are mostly Hindu and complain of discrimination by the majority Sinhalese Buddhists, seek to set up an independent homeland in the north and east of the island.
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