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Colombo "still committed" to settlement after truce pull-out
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 04 - 01 - 2008


Sri Lanka Friday reiterated its
commitment to a negotiated political settlement despite pulling out
of a near six-year-old Norwegian-backed truce with Tamil rebels of
the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), according to dpa.
Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said in a statement that the
government was looking forward to the support of the international
community as Sri Lanka worked towards securing sustainable peace.
The minister said that the termination of the ceasefire agreement
signed in February 2002 "does not in anyway hamper the process of
moving towards a negotiated political settlement".
He added: "In fact, it gives us broader space to pursue this goal
in a manner that involves all sections of the Sri Lankan polity,
which remained sidelined due to the CFA, an agreement solely between
the government and the LTTE."
The government on Thursday conveyed to the Norwegian government
its decision to terminate the agreement with effect from January 16,
meaning the Scandinavians monitoring the truce would pull out by
then.
The truce has been ineffective during the past two years after
rebels renewed attacks on government forces and troops in return
stepped up military operations mainly in the north and eastern
provinces.
Bogollagama declared that rebels, despite the truce, had been
carrying out a series of assassinations, attacks and recruitment of
child soldiers.
Tamil rebels had yet to react Friday, but the European Union
expressed dismay, and called on the Sri Lankan government to return
to negotiations.
"I am deeply disappointed by the Sri Lankan government's decision
to abrogate the 2002 Ceasefire Agreement. This decisions risks
complicating the already difficult situation in the country," EU
External Affairs Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said.
"I hope that the Sri Lankan government will come forward with a
substantive devolution offer around which negotiations can start as
soon as possible... For an arrangement to be credible to minorities
and to serve as a feasible base for negotiations, it needs to go
beyond past offers that failed," her statement said.
The truce agreement had been signed between former prime minister
Ranil Wickremesinghe who is currently the opposition leader and the
LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.
The truce was observed during Wickremesinghe's regime which lasted
only still February 2004, and there had since been serious
violations.
But rebels stepped up their attacks in December 2005 after
incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa was elected to power.


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