>wood's release!! a negotiated deal??>, page-8

sri lanka joint deal with tigers to go to parliame COLOMBO, June 16 (Xinhuanet) -- Sri Lanka's controversial joint deal with the Tamil Tigers for tsunami relief co-ordination is to be presented in the country's legislature, the state radio announced Thursday.

Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga is under siege for her plan to enter the relief co-ordination mechanism with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels for equitable distribution of international assistance to Tamil regions.

Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) said that the joint deal or the Tsunami Relief Council proposal would be submitted in parliament.

The Wednesday night's cabinet meeting had decided to do so, the radio added.

The cabinet decision came just a few hours before the midnight Wednesday decision by Kumaratunga's main coalition partner, the JVP to quit the government unless the Sri Lankan president gave upthe plan.

Kumaratunga also faced stiff opposition from the country's influential Buddhist clergy for the plan.

Two monks held fast unto death to force her to abandon the plan.

Sri Lankan president's detractors say her plan confers legitimacy to a terrorist group and Kumaratunga argues that it is limited to a mere administrative setup.

The president also said the joint deal could form the basis forthe revival of the stalled peace negotiations with the Tigers aimed at ending the long drawn out separatist armed conflict that had claimed over 64,000 lives since the mid 1980s. Enditem