By C. Bryson Hull
COLOMBO, April 17 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers rebels on Friday called again for a truce as they face near-certain defeat, while a senior U.N. official met with the government to discuss the fate of civilians held by the separatists.
There are increasing calls from the world body and a host of nations for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to free the tens of thousands of civilians trapped with them in a tiny area of the island, and for the military to hold fire.
Both sides deny accusations that they are threatening the safety of between 50,000 and 140,000 civilians stuck in a 17- square km (7 sq mile) strip of coastline, where the military has surrounded the rebels with the aim of ending a 25-year war.
Vijay Nambiar, chief of staff for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, met with government officials in Colombo, a U.N. spokesman said, but he declined to give details of the talks.
S. Pathmanathan, the Tigers' new diplomatic pointman, in a statement on the pro-rebel web site www.TamilNet.com, said the separatist rebels were ready for a truce and political talks.
"We are troubled that no effective measures are being taken to bring about a ceasefire and to end the human catastrophe," TamilNet quoted him as saying.
Sri Lanka and diplomats say Pathmanathan is the chief weapons procurer for the LTTE, and is wanted by Interpol.
The United Nations and diplomats have repeatedly said the Tigers have rejected all prior calls to free the civilians.
Both sides deny accusations of harming the civilians. Sri Lanka has rejected previous Tiger calls for a ceasefire, saying its earlier use of them to rearm proves their disingenuousness.
India on Friday asked Sri Lanka to extend a two-day pause, which expired on Wednesday.
"Continuation of precipitated military action, leading to further civilian casualties at this time would be totally unacceptable," said Pranab Mukherjee, India's foreign minister.
India is amid a month-long election period, and there is some pressure from India's 60 million Tamils to stop the fighting. Diplomats and analysts say the current ruling Congress party has no plans to intervene in the war, however. [ID:nDEL403354]
High civilian casualties in the final stage of the war could also draw criticism from foreign countries in general at a time when Sri Lanka needs international financial support.
Sri Lanka's $40 million economy is under strain with falling export prices and demand, the costly war, and the rupee currency <LKR=> under pressure.
Colombo is negotiating a $1.9 billion International Monetary Fund loan but it is yet to be seen whether that and the billions in post-war development aid it will need will be used as a diplomatic lever regarding the conduct of the war. (Editing by Jerry Norton)