World shares blame for Sri Lanka war: Tigers

Colombo, Feb 23: The international community shares the blame for Sri Lanka's renewed civil war, the Tamil Tigers have charged, accusing them of bias and inaction they say has left a ceasefire pact meaningless and fostered conflict.

The Tigers and Sri Lankan government have repeatedly ignored calls by the international community to halt the conflict, which has killed an estimated 4,000 people in the past 15 months alone, and analysts expect it to escalate.

''The international community's unhelpful engagement in the peace effort has had the effect of encouraging the Sri Lankan state to pursue a military solution,'' the Tigers said in a statement issued overnight to mark the fifth anniversary of a now tattered truce pact.

''The international community's failure to take concrete action against the Sri Lankan state to stop serious breaches of the ceasefire agreement or its widespread and systematic human rights violations has contributed to war-like conditions.'' Mediator Norway yesterday called on both sides to respect the pact, but warned the onus was on them to halt a war that has killed around 67,000-68,000 people since 1983.

The Tigers and the military have been locked in a new chapter of the island's two decade conflict for over a year, and the rebels announced in November they were resuming their struggle for an independent state for minority Tamils.

The government, emboldened by the capture of territory in the east controlled by the Tigers under the terms of the truce, have since vowed to wipe out their entire military machine, paving the way for continued war.

Suspected Tigers have mounted repeated roadside bomb attacks that have killed hundreds of people in recent months and clashed with the military on land and at sea.

However neither side has formally pulled out of the truce pact, each accusing the other of breaking it.

Observers say even though it now holds only on paper, the pact could still serve as the core of any future resumption of peace talks, as long as Rajapakse does not give in to demands by hardline nationalists from the majority Sinahlese to abrogate it.

''Even though today it exists only on paper, it remains a unique document in the search for an end to the national conflict,'' the Tigers said. They describe the pact as defunct and meaningless.

The Tigers are angry at a European Union ban imposed last year following a series of attacks, and wants the state held accountable for any rights abuses by the security forces.

''The continued failure of the international community, despite the volume of independently gathered evidence, to take effective steps to curb the state's abuses, is turning the Tamil homeland into an Asian Darfur,'' the Tigers said.

''The Sri Lankan government's ongoing war of aggression, aimed at the subjugation of the Tamil people under the guise of 'war on terrorism' will add to the bloodstained pages of the island's history,'' it added. ''It has also compelled the Tamil people to resume their freedom struggle.''

REUTERS

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