COLOMBO, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger
rebels said on Sunday that it has announced a unilateral ceasefire in the face
of an unprecedented humanitarian crisis and in response to the calls made by the
international community, but the offer has been rejected by the government.
"In the face of an unprecedented humanitarian crisis
and in response to the calls made by the UN, EU, the governments of the United
States, India and others, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has
announced a unilateral ceasefire," the peace secretariat of the LTTE said in a
statement.
Tamil civilians flee to government
controlled areas from Tamil Tiger rebels' last territory in
Puthukkudiyiruppu, northern Sri Lanka, April 24, 2009. (Xinhua/Chen
Zhanjie) Photo
Gallery>>>
"All of LTTE's offensive military operations will
cease with immediate effect," the statement added.
However, the Sri Lankan government has rejected the
ceasefire offer, insisting that the LTTE must lay down arms and surrender.
Sri Lankan Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse, the
younger brother of President Mahinda Rajapakse, was quoted by the media assaying
that the offer "is a joke" as the LTTE "were not fighting with us, they were
running from us."
He said there is no need of a ceasefire and the LTTE
must surrender.
Lakshman Hulugalle, director general of the
government's Media Center for National Security told Xinhua by telephone that
the LTTE "have to lay down arms and surrender. We will definitely carry on with
our humanitarian operation."
Hulugalle said actually there is no formal response
from the government because there is no way for the LTTE to officially inform
the government about their decision.
The LTTE said in the statement that over 165,000
people living within the coastal area still under the LTTE control in the
northern Mullaittivu district are subject to continuous attacks by Sri Lankan
Navy, Air Force and Infantry.
"Those who were moved out of the war zone have been
detained and are held in concentration camps where they are subjected to torture
in violation of all international conventions. These IDP (Internal Displaced
Person) population are not permitted to return to their homes. Instead, some are
being used as human shields by the Sri Lankan forces," said the LTTE statement.
The LTTE said it welcomed the attempts by the UN and its agencies to assist the civilian population and are ready to engage and cooperate with them to address the humanitarian needs of the population.
A photograph of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa hangs above defence spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella (C), who is flanked by military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara (L) and Media Centre for National Security Director General Lakshman Hulugalle, as he speaks during a news conference at the media centre for national security in central Colombo April 22, 2009.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
"We are in full agreement that the humanitarian
crisis can only be overcome by the declaration of an immediate ceasefire. As the
first step we have now announced this unilateral ceasefire and call upon the
international community to pressure the Sri Lankan Government to reciprocate
it," the statement added.
The LTTE's announcement came as the
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief
Coordinator John Holmes is making a three-day visit to Sri Lanka assessing the
government's humanitarian effort.
Some 50,000 civilians are still believed to be
trapped in the conflict between the government troops and the LTTE in the
remaining 10-sq-km area safety zone in Puttumatalan, a small town around 400 km
northeast of the capital Colombo.
The military said they have secured some 110,000
civilians trapped in the safety zone since Monday when the troops broke the
defense lines of the LTTE and entered the area.
This has put pressure on the government's relief
mechanism amid reports of large civilian casualties in the process.
The government said it is on the verge of totally
crushing the LTTE as almost all of the 15,000-sq-km territory held by the LTTE
has been captured by the government in a military offensive launched in 2006.
Claiming discrimination at the hands of the majority
Sinhalese-dominated governments, the LTTE began to fight for an independent
Tamil homeland in the north and east since the mid-1980s, resulting in the
killing of more than 70,000 people.
COLOMBO, April 26 (Xinhua) -- UN
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes on Sunday asked the
Sri Lankan government to suspend its military offensive against the Tamil Tiger
rebels to allow the trapped civilians to escape from the war zone.
Holmes arrived in Colombo Saturday night on a
three-day visit, which focuses on the civilians trapped in the island's
northeast battle zone amid a call by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to
allow a UN team into the fighting zone, officials from the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs said. Full story
COLOMBO, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's Army
Commander Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka toured the northern battle fronton
Saturday to review the status quo in the ongoing operations in the no fire zone
(NFZ) in Puttumatalan of the Mullaittivu district, defense officials said.
Fonseka flew to Vavuniya in the morning to meet his
triumphant troops who have led a successful military campaign against the rebel
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), officials from the Ministry of Defense
said. Full story
COLOMBO, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Some 3.8 million voters
in Sri Lanka's Western Province go to polls on Saturday in what is expected to a
popularity test for President Mahinda Rajapakse's war effort against the Tamil
Tiger rebels.
Rajapakse has been holding provincial council
election on a staggered basis and Saturday's Western Provincial Council election
is also poised to hand Rajapakse another endorsement of his war effort. Full story
Tamil civilians flee to government
controlled areas from Tamil Tiger rebels' last territory in
Puthukkudiyiruppu, northern Sri Lanka, April 24, 2009. Thousands of
civilians fled to government controlled areas from Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels' last territory amid the military's final
onslaught on the rebels since Monday. The international community called
on the two sides to avoid a bloodbath for the sake of innocent
civilians.(Xinhua/Chen Zhanjie) Photo Gallery>>>
Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya
Nanayakkara (2nd L) points to a diagram that he says shows the progress of
the Sri Lankan army against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
during a news conference at the media centre for national security in
central Colombo April 22, 2009. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
COLOMBO,
April 22 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lankan government said Wednesday that Tamil Tiger
rebels' leader Velupillai Prabakaran is still being trapped in a small patch of
land in the northern no fire zone (NFZ) as large number of civilians fled to
government controlled areas.
The government' defense spokesman Keheliya
Rambukwella told reporters that he believes Prabakaran is still hiding in the
remaining less than 13-sq-km of the NFZ in the northeastern Mullaittivu
district. Full story
COLOMBO, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan President
Mahenda Rajapakse said the complete defeat of Tamil Tiger rebels was imminent as
more than 35,000 civilians fled the no fire zone (NFZ) controlled by the rebels
on Monday in the north.
The president made these remarks when he made a
sudden visit to the Air Force Headquarters in Colombo on Monday to watch an
aerial video from a military spy plane over the less than 20-sq-km NFZ at
Puttumatalan in the northern Mullaittivu district, said the Department of
Government Information in a statement. Full story
BRUSSELS, April 24 (Xinhua) -- The European Union
(EU) on Friday called on all parties in Sri Lanka to take all necessary action
to avoid further civilian casualties from the conflict between the Sri Lankan
government and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and to create
conditions for the establishment of full and unrestricted access for
humanitarian aid to be safely delivered.
"The EU expresses deep concern about the large number
of civilian casualties and deteriorating humanitarian situation in the North of
Sri Lanka. The plight of the civilians still trapped by the fighting and who
remain at extreme risk from the ongoing hostilities is our primary concern,"
said a statement issued by the EU Czech presidency. Full story
