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Tamil head: Sorry for Gandhi death
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSNEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- A top negotiator for the Tamil Tiger rebel group has issued "regret" for the 1991 assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. "As far as that event is concerned, I would say it is a great tragedy, a monumental historical tragedy for which we deeply regret," chief negotiator Anton Balasingham said in an interview on Indian cable news network NDTV on Wednesday. "We call upon the government of India to be magnanimous to put the past behind and to approach the ethnic question in a different perspective." Balasingham's statement comes at a time of increasing international isolation for The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), known as the Tamil Tigers. The Tigers have been seeking their own Tamil homeland in the north and east of the island nation, which lies to the south of India. Despite a 2002 cease-fire between the Sri Lankan government and the Tigers, violence in Sri Lanka has escalated, with around 700 people killed so far this year. Heavy fighting in northwestern Sri Lanka Wednesday between the rebels and the Sri Lankan navy left one sailor dead and two missing, the navy reported. The European Union has followed the United States, Britain and India by putting the Tigers on a list of "banned organizations." Balasingham, who is based in London, urged India to get involved in the conflict as a regional power. "What we feel is India should actively involve in the peace process," he said. "We are prepared to build up a new understanding, a new relationship with the government of India provided she makes a positive gesture." Despite Balasingham's statement, Indian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Anand Sharma condemned LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran in an interview on the same network. "Prabhakaran is still a wanted man, the LTTE is still a banned organization," Sharma said. Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in a bombing while campaigning for a seat in parliament in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The attack was blamed on Tamil separatists, although the group did not issue a claim of responsibility. In 1998, an Indian court convicted 26 people for conspiracy in the assassination, including Tamil militants and their Indian allies. The Tamil militants had apparently sought revenge against Gandhi, who had sent Indian troops into Sri Lanka in 1987 to help enforce a peace accord to end Sri Lanka's civil war. The Indian troops ended up fighting the Tamil separatist guerrillas. CNN's Seth Doane, Tess Eastment and Prithvi Banerjii contributed to this report 
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