Norway peace bid dims as Sri Lanka braces for pogrom
Norway peace bid dims as Sri Lanka braces for pogrom
COLOMBO (Agencies): Norway's attempt to broker peace in Sri Lanka suffered a major blow as Tamil Tiger rebels called off their unilateral truce and troops braced for more bloodshed, diplomatic sources said on Tuesday.
The separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) announced they will end the one-sided ceasefire from midnight Tuesday after having observed it for four months in a bid to push the Norwegian peace bid.
The rebel announcement made late Monday prompted Sri Lankan authorities to place police and security forces on red alert amid fears of an escalation in fighting in the island's embattled north, and the capital Colombo.
"The army did not lower the guard earlier, but with the new development, the Tigers may try to escalate attacks to make a point," a military field commander in the north of the island said by telephone.
He added that troops manning defense lines were bracing for rebel assaults while random checks in populated areas were being stepped up to prevent bomb attacks by the Tigers.
The LTTE said in a statement on Monday that government forces had taken advantage of their one-sided truce and killed more than 160 rebels and wounded over 400 during the truce period.
"While our unilateral ceasefire provided the basis for hope and optimism and brought four months of peace and stability to the Sinhala south, the same period has brought war, violence, death and destruction among the Tamils in the northeast," the LTTE said.
However, the government said on Tuesday that it was still open to Norwegian-sponsored peace talks although the Tamil Tiger rebels have announced an end to a unilateral truce they had adopted on Christmas Eve.
"The doors are open for talks with or without a truce," said Ariya Rubasinghe, the government spokesman. "The government did not ask for a truce."
"The government is concerned about their activities but security remains as per normal," he said, saying no new measures were needed to protect the capital from a fresh bombing campaign.
The Norwegian embassy said their peace envoy to Sri Lanka, Erik Solheim, was not scheduled to visit Colombo this week contrary to media reports here that he was due to brief President Chandrika Kumaratunga Wednesday.
"He (Solheim) is not expected here this week or the next," an embassy spokesman said.
Diplomatic sources said Norway's attempts suffered a set back following the hardening of positions by the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government which insists that there can be no preconditions for talks.
In its latest statement, the LTTE launched a scathing attack against the U.S., Britain, European nations and neighboring India for not pressuring the Sri Lankan government to reciprocate the unilateral truce.
The government had earlier said that a timetable for Norwegian-backed peace talks with the LTTE would be announced by the end of this month.
However, with the sudden withdrawal of the LTTE from the truce, political analysts and diplomats here said they feared the process may be further delayed and a first meeting put back beyond May.
"Instead of commending and promoting our peace offensive, some international governments have imposed proscription and other restrictions against us," the LTTE said.
The Tigers were referring to the February proscription against them in Britain under London's new anti-terrorism laws. The US banned the LTTE in October 1997, and India in the early 1990s.
The Tigers were banned by the Sri Lankan government in January 1998, after the group was accused of bombing the holiest Buddhist shrine in the central town of Kandy.
Two weeks ago, the LTTE said they wanted the government to lift the ban on them, remove economic sanctions and reciprocate the truce before entering the Norwegian-backed peace talks.