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No peace initiative, asserts Colombo

B. Muralidhar Reddy

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka on Wednesday refuted reports in a section of the press that it had launched “fresh initiatives” for peace and declared that the military offensive against the threat posed by the Tamil Tigers would continue.

Defence spokesman and Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told a news conference here that there was no truth in the reports that the Government had asked Norway to reach out to the LTTE leadership in Kilinochchi to explore the possibility of peace.

Four days ago, most of the local newspapers carried reports suggesting that on the eve of the Sri Lanka Co-Chairs meeting in Oslo on June 26, President Mahinda Rajapaksa conveyed a message to Norwegian Special Envoy John Hanssen Bauer that his Government was ready for talks with the Tigers.

Following the escalation of the undeclared war for several weeks now, the Government has been discouraging Norway and other interested parties from travelling to Kilinochchi. The Government’s contention is it is not safe to travel to north. It also feels that the situation is not conducive for any kind of engagement with the LTTE.

Mr. Rambukwella said despite the LTTE’s ‘highly provocative acts’ since the first Geneva talks, the Government did not fire a single shot violating the truce until the abortive attempt on the life of the Army Commander in April 2006.

“Only then did the Government make a shift to use its military power targeting the terrorists if national security is threatened. In fact, the Government policy of retaliating terrorism has been consistent. The Government experience since [the] first Geneva talks is that the sincerity of the LTTE is questionable. So as long as the LTTE continues its terrorism, security forces will engage them militarily to ensure national security”, he said.

He said the President, who was deeply concerned with charges of abductions after meeting the representatives of the Muslim community which is affected, has established a secretariat to receive complaints and expedite investigation.

He said after “thorough investigations” one former air force member and two serving members and four policemen have been taken into custody. “Abductions are not an unfamiliar phenomenon in Sri Lanka. In late eighties, abductions and disappearances were the norm.

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