Norway peace bid dims as Sri Lanka braces for pogrom<\/p>\n
COLOMBO (Agencies): Norway's attempt to broker peace in Sri
\nLanka suffered a major blow as Tamil Tiger rebels called off
\ntheir unilateral truce and troops braced for more bloodshed,
\ndiplomatic sources said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
\nannounced they will end the one-sided ceasefire from midnight
\nTuesday after having observed it for four months in a bid to push
\nthe Norwegian peace bid.<\/p>\n
The rebel announcement made late Monday prompted Sri Lankan
\nauthorities to place police and security forces on red alert amid
\nfears of an escalation in fighting in the island's embattled
\nnorth, and the capital Colombo.<\/p>\n
\"The army did not lower the guard earlier, but with the new
\ndevelopment, the Tigers may try to escalate attacks to make a
\npoint,\" a military field commander in the north of the island
\nsaid by telephone.<\/p>\n
He added that troops manning defense lines were bracing for
\nrebel assaults while random checks in populated areas were being
\nstepped up to prevent bomb attacks by the Tigers.<\/p>\n
The LTTE said in a statement on Monday that government forces
\nhad taken advantage of their one-sided truce and killed more than
\n160 rebels and wounded over 400 during the truce period.<\/p>\n
\"While our unilateral ceasefire provided the basis for hope
\nand optimism and brought four months of peace and stability to
\nthe Sinhala south, the same period has brought war, violence,
\ndeath and destruction among the Tamils in the northeast,\" the
\nLTTE said.<\/p>\n
However, the government said on Tuesday that it was still open
\nto Norwegian-sponsored peace talks although the Tamil Tiger
\nrebels have announced an end to a unilateral truce they had
\nadopted on Christmas Eve.<\/p>\n
\"The doors are open for talks with or without a truce,\" said
\nAriya Rubasinghe, the government spokesman. \"The government did
\nnot ask for a truce.\"<\/p>\n
\"The government is concerned about their activities but
\nsecurity remains as per normal,\" he said, saying no new measures
\nwere needed to protect the capital from a fresh bombing campaign.<\/p>\n
The Norwegian embassy said their peace envoy to Sri Lanka,
\nErik Solheim, was not scheduled to visit Colombo this week
\ncontrary to media reports here that he was due to brief President
\nChandrika Kumaratunga Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\"He (Solheim) is not expected here this week or the next,\" an
\nembassy spokesman said.<\/p>\n
Diplomatic sources said Norway's attempts suffered a set back
\nfollowing the hardening of positions by the LTTE and the Sri
\nLankan government which insists that there can be no
\npreconditions for talks.<\/p>\n
In its latest statement, the LTTE launched a scathing attack
\nagainst the U.S., Britain, European nations and neighboring India
\nfor not pressuring the Sri Lankan government to reciprocate the
\nunilateral truce.<\/p>\n
The government had earlier said that a timetable for
\nNorwegian-backed peace talks with the LTTE would be announced by
\nthe end of this month.<\/p>\n
However, with the sudden withdrawal of the LTTE from the
\ntruce, political analysts and diplomats here said they feared the
\nprocess may be further delayed and a first meeting put back
\nbeyond May.<\/p>\n
\"Instead of commending and promoting our peace offensive, some
\ninternational governments have imposed proscription and other
\nrestrictions against us,\" the LTTE said.<\/p>\n
The Tigers were referring to the February proscription against
\nthem in Britain under London's new anti-terrorism laws. The US
\nbanned the LTTE in October 1997, and India in the early 1990s.<\/p>\n
The Tigers were banned by the Sri Lankan government in January
\n1998, after the group was accused of bombing the holiest Buddhist
\nshrine in the central town of Kandy.<\/p>\n
Two weeks ago, the LTTE said they wanted the government to
\nlift the ban on them, remove economic sanctions and reciprocate
\nthe truce before entering the Norwegian-backed peace talks.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/norway-peace-bid-dims-as-sri-lanka-braces-for-pogrom-1447893297",
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