The Hindu : Front Page : Colombo’s ‘no’ to LTTE plea

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Tuesday, Feb 24, 2009
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Front Page

Colombo’s ‘no’ to LTTE plea

B. Muralidhar Reddy

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka on Monday rejected the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam’s fresh plea for a ceasefire, saying it would be prudent on the part of the Tigers to lay down arms and surrender to facilitate the safe passage of thousands of civilians caught in the crossfire in the war zone.

Minister and defence spokesperson Keheliya Rembumkwella told the media that the government and the international community had been urging the LTTE for several days now to lay down arms and pave the way for a ceasefire.

“As the President and several government functionaries have repeatedly said in recent weeks, if the LTTE is genuinely interested in the welfare of Tamil citizens caught in the crossfire, it should give up arms and convincingly demonstrate its readiness to join the democratic mainstream,” he said.

He was responding to a letter from LTTE political head B. Nadesan to leaders of the Co-Chair countries (the U.S., Norway, Japan and the EU) and the U.N. arguing why the calls on the Tigers to lay down arms were not ‘helpful’ in the resolution of the conflict and expressing the LTTE’s readiness to cooperate with them on a ceasefire and peace talks leading to a permanent solution to the ethnic conflict.

The LTTE’s latest offer and Colombo’s response came amid concern over the fate of 75,000-odd civilians stranded in an 85-sq.km territory under the Tigers’ control.

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