COLOMBO, Feb. 2 (Xinhuanet) -- The Sri Lankan government has named the head of its delegation for the forthcoming talks with the Tamil Tigers, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera said here Thursday.

    He said Minister of Health Nimal Siripala De Silva would lead the government delegation for the talks which should get underway within the next three weeks.

    "The government looks forward to the commencement of talks," Samaraweera said.

    The Geneva talks would be the first direct talks between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels and the government since 2003 and the government hopes it would strengthen the Norwegian-backed ceasefire.

    Samaraweera said that some quarters in the opposition believed that President Mahinda Rajapakse and the LTTE would never come to the negotiating table.

    He said the government was appreciative of the flexibility shown by the Tigers in deciding to enter the talks.

    Samaraweera said the allegation of abduction of several aid and relief workers belonging to the Tamil relief agency, Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), could be part of a sinister campaign to scuttle the Geneva talks.

    The TRO alleged on Monday that some of their employees had been abducted by an unknown group in a government-controlled area in the Eastern Province.

    "We are keeping an open mind (on investigations) but there are serious discrepancies and contradictions in the abduction allegation," Samaraweera stressed.

    Head of the Tigers' peace secretariat S. Pulithevan told reporters on Tuesday that abduction of TRO personnel had caused problems for them in deciding to go to Geneva for talks with the government, hinting that government troops may have been responsible for the abduction.

    The Sri Lankan foreign minister said that the government had ordered a full scale police probe into the incident and stressed that the government was keen to reveal the truth. Enditem