Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa called on the separatist Tamil Tigers on Wednesday to give up violence and embrace democracy and the peace process, including international negotiations brokered by Norway. Rajapaksa said his government was committed to constitutional reforms and negotiations and had engaged in combat only as a “calibrated defensive reaction to very serious cease-fire violations by the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam)” at recent flash points. Full Story