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Colombo, LTTE trade charges

V.S. Sambandan

COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan security forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on Tuesday traded charges over a firefight near a Buddhist shrine in the north-central Polonnaruwa district.

The incident occurred on Monday when a gunman opened fire at a sentry point near the shrine. The Government charged the LTTE with provoking "the sentiments of Sinhalese-Buddhists against the innocent Tamils" to cause an inter-ethnic strife.

The LTTE denied the charge and blamed "government-operated forces" for the attack "aimed at creating ethnic tensions" and "discrediting the LTTE."

Meanwhile, a E.U. Member of Parliament, Neena Gill, has called for restraint and an end to violence in Sri Lanka. Ms. Gill, who is the president of the E.U. Parliamentary delegation to South Asia and SAARC countries, called for a complete de-escalation and resumption of negotiations.

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