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Sri Lanka's defence secretary has rejected the Tamil Tigers' offer to enter a democratic process after their military defeat by government forces.In an interview with the BBC, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said the LTTE rebels could not be trusted to give up "terrorism". The rebels had said they would give up violence after their leader was killed in recent fighting in the north-east.

The UN has complained that the government has been blocking humanitarian aid.

Mr Rajapaksa - the most senior civilian official in charge of the war against the Tamil Tigers - told the BBC in a wide-ranging telephone interview that he was "not interested in LTTE at all." He said: "I do not believe the LTTE can enter a democratic process after years of their violent activities." He added that there were "enough democratic Tamil political parties in the country" to represent the Tamil minority.