Sri Lanka to rebels: Talk peace or face more war

By Simon Gardner

COLOMBO, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's government vowed on Monday to stamp out Tamil Tigers from swathes of jungle in the island's east after capturing a key stronghold, but said the rebels could avoid more fighting if they agree to peace talks.

Sri Lanka's government drove out the Tigers from their last coastal enclave in the east on Friday -- territory which belonged to the rebels under the terms of a now tattered 2002 ceasefire -- after weeks of fierce artillery duels.

The government's ultimatum came hours after the military and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) clashed at sea off the island's northern tip and as troops scoured for routed Tigers trying to withdraw to camps in the jungles of Toppigala in the east.

"Toppigala is a bit of a volatile area, which runs the risk of forces being attacked from time to time, so we will have to eliminate that risk as well," defence spokesman and government minister Kehelia Rambukwella said in a telephone interview.

"If tomorrow the LTTE says 'we are ready to stop hostilities and get back to the negotiating table', we will stop immediately," he added. "If they do not, then we'll have to liberate the Tamil civilians in the east and then call (the Tigers) for negotiations." He said the government was not threatening to banish the Tigers from their main northern base, which analysts say would trigger an all-out return to a conflict that has killed more than 67,000 civilians, troops and rebels since 1983.

Nordic truce monitors say both sides have repeatedly violated the ceasefire agreement, which now holds only on paper. Evicting the Tigers from the east is one such violation.

"In the context of what they have done with the ceasefire agreement, the Sri Lankan government has a big way to go to prove their commitment to any kind of negotiated settlement," Tiger military spokesman Rasiah Ilanthiraiyan said by telephone from the rebels' northern base of Kilinochchi.

"In the east, there is always a balance between possession of territory and fighting ability, and it may constantly change," he added.

Ilanthiraiyan said the Tigers had repulsed an attack by troops on one of their eastern jungle areas early on Monday.

The captured eastern enclave spanning the districts of Trincomalee and Batticaloa around 240 km (150 miles) northeast of Colombo was an important maritime supply line for the Tigers and is a major strategic loss.

Tens of thousands of refugees are now housed in rudimentary camps in both districts, many of them already displaced previously by both the war or the 2004 tsunami -- or both.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/COL294048.htm

சிறிலங்கா அரசு தீவின் கிழக்கு பகுதியில் போராளிகளின் பலமிக்க பிரதேசங்களை கைபற்றிய பின்னர் கடந்த திங்களன்று "புலிகளை காட்டுக்கு அடித்து விரட்டுவோம்" என்று சூழுரைத்துள்ளது. "ஆனால் புலிகள் பேச்சுக்கு சம்மதித்தால் மேற்கொண்டு யுத்தத்தை தவிர்க்கலாம்" என்றும் தெரிவித்துள்ளது.

நீங்கள் ஆட்டத்தை ஆரம்பித்தீர்கள், இனி அவர்கள் ஆடும் முறை. அதற்குள் என்ன அவசரம்!

Edited January 22, 200718 yr by saanakiyan

சிங்கத்துக்கு ஒரு காலம் வந்தால், புலிக்கும் ஒரு காலம் வரும் தானே?

இதோ முக்கால்வாசி தான் உள்ளது, அரைவாசி முடிந்தது இன்னும் கால்பங்கு தான் இருக்கின்றது. அதோ தெரிகிறது பிரபாவின் பாசறை என்று கடைசியில் துண்டைக் காணோம் துணியைக் காணோம் என்று கப்பல் கேட்ட வரலாறு மறந்து விட்டு சிங்களம் கொக்கரிக்கின்றதோ? சரித்திரம் திரும்பும். தர்மம் வெல்லும். இதே சொற்கள் விரைவில் எம் பக்கத்திலிருந்தும் கேட்கும்.

ஈழத்திலிருந்து

ஜானா

Edited January 22, 200718 yr by Janarthanan