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Show commitment to peace, LTTE told

V.S. Sambandan

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's international donors on Monday said the three-year-old ceasefire agreement was facing its "most serious challenge" and wanted the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to "take immediate public steps to demonstrate their commitment to the peace process and their willingness to change."

The call came from the co-chairs of the Tokyo Donor Conference — the U.S., U.K., E.U., Japan and Norway — who met in New York to discuss the situation in the aftermath of the assassination of Lakshman Kadirgamar, by a suspected LTTE sniper.

Reiterating their "unequivocal condemnation" of the assassination, they said: "This unconscionable act of terrorism casts profound doubt on the commitment of those responsible to a peaceful and political resolution of the conflict." They said an "immediate end to political assassinations by the LTTE and an end to LTTE recruitment of child soldiers," were "two such steps."

The ceasefire agreement, signed by the then Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, and LTTE leader V. Prabakaran in February 2002 was "the essential anchor of the peace process" and was "put at grave risk by the continuing violence." The "effective implementation" of the ceasefire agreement "is the responsibility of the Government and the LTTE," the donors said.

On the current standoff over talks to review the implementation of the agreement, the donors said they were "disappointed that the LTTE have not agreed to the proposed venue for talks," and urged "both parties to engage constructively" with Norwegian special envoy Trond Furuhovde.

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