International   

Colombo has rendered truce defunct: LTTE

B. Muralidhar Reddy

Norwegian envoy to talk with Tigers

COLOMBO: The LTTE has said it has not withdrawn from the 2002 Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) and it is the Sri Lanka Government that has rendered it `defunct.'

According to a spokesperson of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), the Tamil Tigers conveyed their position vis-à-vis the CFA when the former contacted the LTTE leadership.

The scheduled visit of Norwegian special envoy Hanssen-Bauer on Wednesday night assumes significance after the 2006 `Heroes Day' speech of LTTE chief Velupillai Prabakaran that the Tamil Tigers have decided to pursue the goal of an independent state.

Spokesperson of the Norwegian Embassy here, Eric I. Nurnberg, told The Hindu that in the course of his week-long stay, Mr. Hanssen-Bauer would hold talks with officials in the Government as well as travel to Kilinochchi for interaction with the LTTE leadership.

Asked about the reported communication by the Sri Lanka Government on Tuesday seeking a clarification on where Norway stood as the official facilitator of the peace talks after Mr. Prabakaran's speech, the Norwegian spokesperson said, "We are yet to receive any such message from the Sri Lanka Government."

U.S. feels `disturbed'

The U.S. State Department spokesperson McCormack in a statement said that Washington was "disturbed" by Mr. Prabakaran's observations that he considered the ceasefire agreement to be defunct.

"We condemn the Tamil Tigers for fuelling violence and hostility. Violence and terrorism do nothing to advance the resolution of the conflict, and we're pressing sides, the government as well as the Tigers, to honour the ceasefire agreement and return to a dialogue that will move the nation toward peace," Mr. McCormack said.

He said the ceasefire agreement is the foundation on which both the government of Sri Lanka and the Tamil Tigers can find `mutual understanding and build sustainable peace.'

On November 21, Mr. McCormack said the United States hosted a meeting of the co-chairs of the 2003 Tokyo Donors' Conference on Sri Lanka. The contact group, comprising representatives from Japan, Norway, the European Union and the United States, met to discuss the deteriorating security situation and issued a statement condemning "continued and systematic ceasefire violations" by both the Government and the Tigers.

"The Tigers can choose to return to the peace process and should do so for the benefit of the Sri Lankan people," Mr. McCormack said.

Humanitarian supplies

In another development 85 of 169 lorries of humanitarian supplies, facilitated and monitored by the ICRC and the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, crossed the Mankerny Sri Lanka Army (SLA) camp into the Tiger-controlled Vaharai region in Batticaloa district.

An estimated 38,000 people, the bulk of them internally displaced, are housed in temporary camps in the region and it was after a gap of one month that relief supplies could be reached to them.

TamilNet claimed that the SLA attempted to refuse permission to further supplies, claiming that the Tigers were engaged in combat manoeuvring on the supply route. However, the SLMM was present to independently verify such allegations and monitor the supplies.

The Sri Lanka military alleged that the LTTE strengthening defences behind the cover of aid convoys fired mortars at an Army patrol in Kirimichchi, southwest of Panichchnkerni in the afternoon.

"Due to fresh attacks by the LTTE, the remaining 38 aid vehicles could not proceed to Vakarai. A convoy of 85 vehicles carrying essential food items left for Tiger-held Vaharai this afternoon. They were requested to return to government controlled areas by evening," the military said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Colombo has rendered truce defunct: LTTE
N. Korea, U.S. agree to restart talks
Russian leader's illness linked to spy's death
NATO rapid force ready for missions
China jails mine bosses for blasts
Tributes to Castro
Oceans storing climate change dangers
Pope appeals for West Asia peace

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu