By Paul Tighe
Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Sri Lanka formally ended its 2002 cease-fire with the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, rejecting as inaccurate a United Nations statement that the conflict may intensify and threaten human rights.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa's government said the truce, brokered by Norway, will formally end today because the LTTE used it to boost its forces and prepare attacks. The Tamil Tigers last week said they were ``shocked and disappointed'' by the decision.
``The cease-fire ended quite some time ago when the LTTE unilaterally returned to full-scale hostilities in December 2005,'' Sri Lanka's mission to the UN in Geneva said in a statement yesterday.
Sri Lanka's army has driven Tamil Tiger forces from the eastern region, leaving the group in control of bases only in the north as it fights for a separate homeland. The 2002 accord helped the South Asian island nation's $27 billion economy post uninterrupted growth and international aid donors have expressed concern at the ending of the truce, saying there can be no military solution to the 25-year conflict.
Sri Lanka's government and the LTTE must abide by their obligations under international law to protect civilians, Louise Arbour, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said in a statement yesterday.
``An intensification of hostilities will likely have a devastating effect on the human rights of many Sri Lankans from all communities,'' she said. People violating rules covering the protection of civilians could face charges under international law, including ``those in positions of command.''
No Violations
Sri Lanka hasn't violated international law during the conflict either before or after the cease-fire, its mission in Geneva said.
``Sri Lanka is firmly committed to a political solution to the legitimate grievances of the Tamil people, based on the devolution of power,'' it said. ``It will not be deterred by thinly veiled (if pathetically unenforceable) threats, attempting to undermine the morale of its military.''
The Tamil Tigers, designated a terrorist group by the U.S., the European Union and India, have been fighting for a separate homeland in a conflict that has killed more than 70,000 people. Fighting intensified in the north and east after two rounds of peace talks in 2006 failed.
Japan's Aid
What Sri Lanka's government ``does and does not do will be an important consideration'' regarding future aid, Yasushi Akashi, Japan's representative for peace-building, rehabilitation and reconstruction in Sri Lanka, said yesterday in Colombo.
``Our aid programs and volumes are based on a complex set of economic, political and humanitarian factors and we will be making a decision on this in the future,'' he said.
The Japanese government has emphasized the need for a political solution to the island's conflict, Akashi said, stressing that a military strategy would have ``dire humanitarian consequences.''
Japan, along with the U.S., the European Union and Norway, members of the so-called co-chairs of international donors for Sri Lanka group, asked the government and LTTE to allow access by aid agencies to serve the people affected by the conflict.
Sri Lanka's government will release a proposal to devolve power to regions on Jan. 23, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama told Akashi two days ago, according to the Defense Ministry's Web site.
Regional Powers
Sri Lanka's government rejects any settlement that would divide the country of 20 million people. Tamils make up 11.9 percent of the population and Sinhalese almost 74 percent, according to the 2001 census.
A 1987 constitutional amendment that envisaged devolving power to the island's regions is the basis for ending the conflict, Rajapaksa told local television two days ago, according to the Defense Ministry.
Sri Lanka is seeking $1.8 billion in aid and investment in the next five years to rebuild the eastern region captured from the LTTE in July. Japan is Sri Lanka's biggest donor.
Investing in roads, power and ports and developing the eastern region will increase growth to 8 percent from about 7 percent, Rajapaksa said in his budget speech in November.
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