Spin bowler Muralitharan, a Tamil himself, made his plea during a three-day tour of the war-torn north with representatives of the United Nation's World Food Progra-mme and foreign donors.

The tour included a visit to the political and administrative stronghold of the Tamil Tigers, whose bloody war for autonomy killed more than 64,000 and ruined swathes of the north and east.

"As a sportsman, all I can say is that Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims come together to play cricket side by side," Muralitharan said after a one-hour meeting with Sudha Master, the deputy political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

"Likewise, the politicians and the LTTE must come together and make peace for the good of this country's people," he told this news agency after seeing the destruction caused by years of fighting.

"The LTTE is willing to come to the peace table and, although I don't know about the government's position or the procedures involved, the people of the south want peace. The government must fulfil their wishes and come for negotiations."