¡¡ COLOMBO, March 6 (Xinhuanet) -- Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse on Monday hailed the support coming from all political parties for his peace moves with the Tamil Tiger rebels, the stateradio said.

    Addressing an all party forum on the N orwegian backed peace process with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels, Rajapakse said that all political parties must unite in the task of resolving the bloody armed separatist conflict.

    Rajapakse had summoned the all party forum to discuss the outcome of last month's talks in Geneva between his negotiators and the rebels, said Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation.

    Some 14 political parties had attended the meeting and all parties were of the opinion that peace efforts must be further pursued, said Health Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva, the head ofthe government negotiating team.

    "We have had a very positive response from all parties and the view is that talks must be continued," De Silva was quoted by the radio as saying.

    However, at the start of the talks, the leftist JVP (National Liberation Front), one of Rajapakse's allies, had been critical ofthe joint statement released after the talks held in Geneva.

    The JVP leader Somawansa Amerasinghe regretted the government action in issuing a joint statement with the Tigers in Geneva and said that the government must lay emphasis on its military strength so as to keep the Tigers in the negotiating table.

    This was the third round of all party talks moved by Rajapakse aimed at achieving broader consensus for his peace moves. Enditem