Sri Lankan Government and Tiger rebels on Friday signed a landmark tsunami aid-sharing deal, raising hopes of salvaging a Norwegian-led peace process while the hardline party stepped up nationwide protests.

The government said the deal raised the prospect of reviving direct peace talks which remain on hold since April 2003, but the main Marxist party, the JVP, described it as a stepping stone for the break-up of the island.

Under the deal, the Colombo government and the Tigers will jointly handle billions of US dollars in foreign aid for survivors of the December 26 tsunami, which killed at least 31,000 people and displaced one million in the country.

"The secretary to the ministry of rehabilitation, M. S. Jayasinghe, signed on behalf of the government" government minister Maithripala Sirisena said.

The document, after being signed by Jayasinghe, was taken by Norwegian diplomats to the rebel-held town of Kilinochchi where it was inked by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Deputy Head of Planning and Development Secretariat, Shanmugalingam Ranjan.

Finance Minister Sarath Amunugama said the deal could help break the 26-month deadlock in peace talks.

"Though this is not directly linked to the peace process, this will create a good environment in which we are going to work with each other and that could help the peace process," he said.

Details of the proposed Post-Tsunami Operational Management Structure were unveiled in parliament on Friday after months of secret talks with the help of Norway.

Government officials said the two sides had discussed 13 drafts before signing the 14th on Friday, underscoring the intense negotiations that went on before a deal could be clinched.

Several groups have attacked the government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga for agreeing to the deal, which critics see as granting the separatists too much legitimacy.

The JVP, or People's Liberation Front, disrupted parliamentary debate on the controversial issue when the document was released ahead of debate in the assembly, and the sitting ended in chaos.

The JVP argues that the deal will set the stage for the LTTE to strengthen their claim for an independent homeland by granting them recognition as a separate entity.

The government responded to the uproar in parliament by postponing assembly sittings until July 5. However, the delay has no bearing on concluding the deal as it does not require approval by parliament, a government minister said.

The JVP quit the ruling coalition last week protesting the deal to jointly handle tsunami aid and vowed to launch nationwide protests from Friday.

The joint mechanism will be in three tiers with a three-member panel - one representative each from the government, the Tigers and the minority Muslim community.

(China Daily June 25, 2005)