Sri Lanka's president yesterday vowed tough measures to prevent "terror attacks" that undermine an already troubled ceasefire with Tamil Tiger rebels as officials reported three more deaths in the embattled east. President Mahinda Rajapakse told diplomats that his government will take "all necessary measures to deter further terror attacks," his office said in a statement.

Diplomats from the quartet known as "co-chairs," or the entities that helped raise money in support of the island's peace bid, met the president in the wake of Saturday's suicide bombing of a navy gunboat by a suspected Tamil Tiger official.

The attack that killed 15 sailors was the worst single loss suffered by security forces since a Norwegian-brokered truce went into effect in 2002 and sparked fears that the country could slip back to war.

"The ambassadors of the co-chairs expressed their strong appreciation of the restraint and responsibility shown by the government in the face of escalating attacks by the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam)," the statement said.

It said the president told the diplomats from the United States, the European Union, Norway and Japan that Colombo was ready to open peace talks with the Tigers at any time, but was awaiting word from the guerrillas.

Rajapakse came to power in November on a promise to replace the Norwegian-backed peace initiative with a new peace process, but since assuming office he has made a U-turn and asked Oslo to remain as the facilitator.

Since Rajapakse came to power, there had been a rise in violence in the north and east. At least 115 people, including 67 members of the security forces and police, have been killed in the past month alone despite the truce.

The ceasefire went into effect from February 23, 2002, two years after Norway was formally invited to broker peace by Rajapakse's predecessor Chandrika Kumaratunga.

The president had warned at a meeting in the south of the island Sunday that his patience should not be mistaken for weakness and he was "duty bound" to ensure the security of the nation.

"If someone takes my patience that I have inculcated through Buddhist values as my weakness, they would be mistaken," he was quoted as saying by the state-run Daily News.

"I am duty bound to ensure the security of this country. In the same manner I am duty bound not to allow anybody to create problems in the country." The president told the LTTE to stop thinking he was "deaf and blind." "It is a great mistake if anyone thinks that our decisions can be altered by means of terror. The LTTE should realise that we are not deaf and blind. If they think so, the time has come for them to give up such thoughts."

Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels launched a fresh attack against the military in Trincomalee on Sunday night, killing one soldier and wounding five, military officials said. They said a search of the area Monday found the bodies of two suspected Tiger rebels, two assault rifles and one light machine gun.

PHOTO CAPTION

A Sri Lankan government soldier stands on guard on a street in Jaffna city, northern Sri Lanka, December 20, 2005. (Reuters)