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Source: ReutersFri Jan 11, 2008 1:10pm EST By Ranga Sirilal COLOMBO, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's government rejected a Tamil Tiger offer on Friday to abide by the terms of a newly-scrapped six-year ceasefire and vowed to push on with a military campaign to crush the rebels ... The government says it will wipe out the Tigers militarily, setting the stage for what many fear will be a difficult battle for the north that will significantly add to the estimated 70,000 deaths since the war erupted in 1983. The government's move to annul the ceasefire, which technically expires on Jan. 16, has shocked the international community and is seen ruining any hope of resurrecting peace talks any time soon. Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSCOL298162._CH_.2400
LTTE urges Norway to continue facilitation By Xinhua Colombo : The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), fighting for a Tamil homeland in Sri Lanka, has urged Norway to continue its efforts for the peace process in the island even as the government has announced unilateral withdrawal from the Norwegian-brokered 2002 ceasefire agreement. B. Nadesan, the political head of the LTTE, Thursday handed over a signed statement to Lars Johan Solvberg, head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Killinochchi, urging the mission to continue facilitating the peace process. The statement said: "LTTE wishes to state that even at this juncture, it is ready to implement every clause of the ceasefire agreement and respect it 100 percent. We also request that Norway should continue with its facilitation role with the support of the international community." ... http://www.indianmuslims.info/news/2008/jan/11/ltte_urges_norway_continue_facilitation.htmlJapan Sends Envoy After Sri Lanka Ends Cease-Fire (Update1) By Ed Johnson and Keiichi Yamamura Jan. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Japan will send a peace envoy to Sri Lanka at the weekend for talks with the government after it withdrew from a 2002 cease-fire accord with Tamil rebels, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo said. Yasushi Akashi will travel to the South Asian nation on Jan. 13 and is scheduled to meet with President Mahinda Rajapaksa, according to a statement. The ministry didn't say whether he will meet with representatives of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. ``We are very worried that Sri Lanka's decision will lead to the deterioration of the dispute and further conflict,'' Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura told reporters in Tokyo today. Sri Lanka should ``continue efforts to reach a political solution through dialogue.'' ... http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=aibVHE1l9Nk8&refer=japanLankan govt hints at inviting LTTE for direct talks Friday, 11 January , 2008, 14:54 Colombo: As part of its efforts to resolve the 25-year-old ethnic conflict, Sri Lankan government may invite the LTTE for direct talks after the report on devolution package is accepted by all political parties and then ratified by a referendum. "Once the new proposals were ready and accepted by all democratic establishments in the country, they would have to be ratified by a referendum," Presidential advisor and parliamentarian Basil Rajapakse said. "After they were ratified, the government would invite the LTTE for direct talks based on the proposals," he was quoted as saying by the Daily Mirror newspaper ... http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14588054Sri Lankan government minister killed in bomb explosion Thursday, 10 January 2008 ... D.M. Dassanayake, a non-cabinet minister for nation building, died in hospital following the explosion of a fragmentation mine, which injured five others, CNN reported ... http://www.turkishweekly.net/news.php?id=51367Bomb blast as Sri Lanka dismiss Tiger truce offer COLOMBO (AFP) — A powerful bomb exploded at Sri Lanka's main railway station Friday as the government said it was pressing ahead with efforts to defeat Tamil Tiger rebels and dismissed rebel talk of salvaging a truce. The blast went off on one of the platforms at the Fort station in Colombo, a police official said, adding that one man had been taken to hospital following the explosion ... There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the authorities had blamed the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for all the bombings ... http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5g8VTWemG445mCWcC-1PVYAIkS1ew Rajapakse's Big Bet January 11, 2008 Sri Lanka's civil war has been raging for more than two decades, but President Mahinda Rajapakse is now betting he can win it. After formally withdrawing from peace talks last week, his government commenced a major offensive in the Tamil Tigers' northern stronghold. This is a risky gamble, by many measures ... In hindsight, Mr. Rajapakse's commitment to the negotiated cease-fire has always been shaky. He won office in 2005 largely by vowing to take a tougher line with the Tigers than his predecessor. His government has done little to reach across the aisle and draft a political solution, not to mention legislation to address discrimination against Tamils by the majority Sinhalese. Part of the blame goes to Mr. Rajapakse's weak political coalition, which is heavily reliant on the support of the hawkish People's Liberation Front. Now, the military solution is all Mr. Rajapakse has left, and it's not a sure bet by any means. The army is taking on the Tigers where they're strongest -- in the north. The military also hasn't consolidated its recent victories, particularly in the Eastern province. That, plus the uptick in bombings in the capital -- the Minister for Nation Building, another Tamil legislator, was killed by a car bomb in the heart of Colombo on Tuesday -- doesn't inspire confidence. Meanwhile, it's ordinary Sri Lankans who are suffering. The Colombo bomb attacks are scaring away tourists. Investment is in decline, and the stock market is listless. The Nordic Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, which monitored human rights violations during the truce, is pulling out of the country ... http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119999205173481575.html?mod=googlenews_wsj |
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