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Ceasefire agreement redundant: Sri Lanka

B. Muralidhar Reddy

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka Minister and Defence spokesperson Keheliya Rambukwella said here on Wednesday that Colombo would make an announcement about the fate of the Norwegian brokered 2002 Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) in a `couple of weeks.'

Responding to questions at the weekly news briefing, the Minister said that while the CFA remained on paper, the `objective reality' on the ground was different. He said in the course of next two weeks the Government would decide on whether to abrogate or strengthen the CFA.

The Minister's statement came amid stepped up fighting between the Sri Lankan security forces and the Tamil Tigers in the north and east and reported comment made by Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the course of an interview to an international television channel that due to violations by the Tigers, the CFA has become redundant.

Air strikes

The Sri Lanka Air Force (SALF) MiG and K'fir fighter jets pounded on an `LTTE logistic facility' south of Puthukkudiyiruppu, in the Mullaittivu District, with precision air strikes on Wednesday at 12.30 p.m. "According to available information the LTTE logistic facility was destroyed into rubble, causing maximum damage to the terrorists," it said.

TamilNet claimed that the Liberation Tigers on Wednesday confronted a contingent of Sri Lanka Army troopers who attempted to advance through LTTE defence line in Madu. "The SLA suffered casualties and fled the battleground carrying their own casualties, Irasiah Ilanthirayan, the military spokesman of the Tigers told the media," it reported.

ICG report

In another development International Crisis Group (ICG), an NGO think-tank, in a new report on Sri Lanka, has said that immediate steps should be taken to ensure the security and political involvement of Sri Lanka's Muslims. It said their views must be taken into account if a lasting peace settlement is to be achieved.

The report titled, `Sri Lanka's Muslims: Caught in the Crossfire' examines the plight of Muslims, who have been victims of massacres, ethnic cleansing and forced displacement over the past two decades, largely by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), and sidelined at successive peace talks. The growing disillusionment among a new generation must be adequately addressed through an equitable settlement between the country's Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim communities, it said.

"The Muslims are the forgotten party in the Sri Lankan conflict," says David Lewis, Crisis Group's Senior Analyst in the region. "The government needs to address the Muslim issue more directly, as part of a comprehensive political proposal that offers real devolution, if there is to be a political settlement."

One-third of Sri Lanka's nearly two million Muslims live in the conflict-affected north and east and thus have a significant interest in any future settlement. The resumption of military action in 2006 saw more killings and displacement of Muslims in the east, as well as conflict with the pro-government Tamil paramilitary group, the Karuna faction, it said.

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