'Sri Lankan government committed to ceasefire'

Chennai, Apr 28: The Sri Lankan government was committed to its ceasefire agreement with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) even after the assassination attempt on its Army Commander on April 25, Sri Lanka Deputy High Commissioner Sumith Nakandala said today.

Addressing a press meet here, he said the air strikes in the LTTE- held parts of Trincomalee were only in the nature of deterrent action against further attacks by the tigers. The island government would not go against the four-year-old truce accord.

'The air strikes were only limited in scope and dimension and in the nature of deterrent action.' The attacks, involving Air Force and Navy, were limited on select targets and never at civilians.

Giving an account of the present situation in Sri Lanka in the wake of the suicide bomb attack on Lt Gen Sarath Fonseka, Commander of the Sri Lankan Army, Mr Nakandala asserted that the 'ceasefire is intact.' President Mahinda Rajapakse too made this clear, he added.

Stating there was no reason for the island government to break the ceasefire agreement, the envoy said the government remained committed to a peaceful, negotiated settlement that would satisfy all sections.

He said India had immediately condemned the assassination attempt, and Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee spoke to the Lankan President, condemning the attack. 'India has given whatever support we have requested,' he said, but could not confirm reports that India had called on Sri Lanka to exercise restraint.

Mr Nakandala said he had no figures, when asked about casualties suffered by civilians in the two-day air raids, but quoted military intelligence reports to say 10 LTTE cadre were killed in the strikes. He dismissed as Tigers' false propaganda, reports that 40,000 Tamils fled their homes following the air raid. Stating that the air strikes were targeted at Sampoor division, he said the population in the division was only 16,500.

However, the island government had set up a Task Force for rehabilitation of the people affected by the coordinated attacks, and allocated a sum of Rs 100 million (Sri Lankan) for relief work.

'The government has been walking the extra mile to accommodate the LTTE's requests on logistical matters to ensure that the two parties met in Geneva for a scheduled round of talks on the implementation of the ceasefire agreement,' he said.

Charging the LTTE with adopting various tactics to avoid attending peace talks, he alleged the Tigers were responsible for over 3,000 ceasefire violations. Their recent 'provocative actions' showed they wanted to a communal backlash against Tamil civilians.

Asked whether the Sri Lanka government enjoyed popular support for the peace process, he said the people of the island nation were against war. Even if some had a different opinion, the government believed there should only be a negotiated settlement, he added.

UNI

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