The Sri Lankan government's chief negotiator Nimal Siripala De Silva Wednesday told reporters that this week's direct talks with the Tamil Tigers would be a difficult process but the government would be determined to make progress.

"It will be a very difficult job when the two sides were engaged in military battles. We hope we will make the LTTE to have a change in attitude to continue with the peace process," De Silva said prior to leaving for Geneva.

He and the government delegation preceded the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels in taking the flight for Geneva for the Oct. 28 and 29 talks. The rebel delegation were ferried in a government helicopter to the Colombo international airport from the rebel-held Kilinochchi district on Tuesday took a flight which departed later on Wednesday morning, officials said.

These talks, the first since the government and the LTTE became engaged in bitter military conflicts, are seen as crucial for the future peace in the island nation.

Over 2000 people have been killed in violence since the end of 2005 and over 200,000 people have been displaced since the conflict escalated at the end of July.

The rebels said they were going to Geneva in keeping with the wishes of the international community. The government officials said although no agenda had yet been fixed for the two-day meeting the government would be looking forward to a serious commitment from the Tiger rebels on the Norwegian-backed peace initiative.

The rebels blame the government for massive human rights violations such as abductions, murders and also breaking the February 2002 ceasefire accord. In response, the government maintains they reserved the right to take defensive action against the rebels in order to safeguard national security interests.

More than 64,000 people were killed between the mid 1980s and February 2002 when the Norwegians stepped in to mediate an end to one of the world's longest running armed conflicts.

The LTTE aims to set up a separate homeland for the minority Tamil community in the northern and eastern regions claiming discrimination at the hands of the Sinhalese majority.

(Xinhua News Agency October 25, 2006)