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LTTE ‘ceasefire’ a joke: Colombo

B. Muralidhar Reddy

“Tigers have no option but to surrender”

Sri Lanka Co-Chairs call on Colombo and the LTTE to end hostilities
Ruling party wins Western Provincial Council election

COLOMBO: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), sheltered among an estimated 20,000 civilians in less than 8 sq. km. inside the government-demarcated no-fire zone, on Sunday declared a unilateral cessation of offensive military operations.

“Release civilians”

The government of Sri Lanka termed the announcement by the Tigers a “joke” and said the remaining LTTE cadres had no option but to surrender with their weapons and release the civilians they were using as human shield.

“It is a joke and cheap publicity stunt. They were not fighting but are on the run from the military. Where is the question of a ceasefire? They must surrender. That is it,” Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa said.

Plea for amnesty

The LTTE’s announcement came within hours after the Sri Lanka Co-Chairs — the U.S., EU, Japan and Norway — called on the government of Sri Lanka and the Tigers to end hostilities, urged the militants to lay down arms to a neutral third party and appealed to the government of Sri Lanka to offer amnesty to most Tigers and to devise a clear resettlement plan and to open the way for a political dialogue.

“In the face of an unprecedented humanitarian crisis and in response to the calls made by the U.N., EU, the governments of the USA, India and others, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam has announced an unilateral ceasefire. All of LTTE’s offensive military operations will cease with immediate effect,” the Tigers said in their announcement. There was no reference in the statement on the demand by the Sri Lanka Co-Chairs to Tigers to lay down arms to a third party. For several weeks, the government has been insisting that they had no option but to surrender.

Boost for ruling party

The LTTE announcement and the government response coincided with a decisive victory registered by the ruling party led by Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the election to the Western Provincial Council (WPC). Barring Colombo Central, dominated by Tamils and Muslims, the ruling party registered thumping victories in all other parts of the province.

Elaborating on the government view on the LTTE announcement, Press Secretary to the President Lucien Rajakarunanayake told The Hindu, “The LTTE is known for its unilateral ceasefires when it is cornered. Just to give two examples, the Tigers declared such a ceasefire immediately after the 9/11 attacks to duck world attention on terrorism and again resorted to a ridiculous ceasefire in August 2008 to coincide with the SAARC Summit in Colombo.”

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