In the wake of a claymore attack on January 12 which killed ten troopers in a Sri Lanka Navy convoy proceeding from Vavuniya to Mannar, international ceasefire monitors asked whether indeed there could be said to be a ceasefire amidst the plethora of attacks and murders in the island’s Northeast.
In a statement issued Friday last week the Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission (SLMM) lamented over 100 people have been killed last month half of which were civilians.
“Killings and serious attacks continue and the situation is getting worse. It is our assessment that if the Parties don’t react immediately they risk going back to war,” the monitors said.
The SLMM condemned the attack on the Navy bus as “brutal murder” and said it was “yet another serious blow to the Ceasefire Agreement.”
The government blames the Tigers for the attack, a charge the LTTE denies. The Tigers said Tamil residents incensed by continuing military harassment are striking back.
The SLMM said it “believes that if such attacks or retaliation of such attacks continue the Ceasefire Agreement will be over.”
Whilst acknowledging “several reports of civilian harassment by the Security Forces” the monitors also said it was not enough for the Tigers to disclaim responsibility and that the “ LTTE’s indifference to these attacks worrying.”
However the monitors urged the Sri Lankan government to restrain its military.
The SLMM said the Sri Lankan government must take steps to “to face up to its responsibility to disarm … armed groups” – referring to Army-backed paramilitaries - operating in areas controlled by its military.
These “alternative armed elements”, the SLMM said, “have been able to operate freely in the East in Government controlled areas.”
“These forces have destabilised the ceasefire and are one of the major reasons for increased tension between the Parties [to the ceasefire],” the SLMM said.
Extracts from the statement follow:
“Various actors in the international community have blamed the LTTE for attacking Government troops but the LTTE has continuously denied any involvement. The LTTE claims that “the People” are behind the attacks on the military. SLMM finds this explanation unacceptable. It is safe to say that LTTE involvement cannot be ruled out and we find the LTTE’s indifference to these attacks worrying.
“It is however clear that people are suffering and unfortunately there have been several reports of civilian harassment by the Security Forces in relation to increased security measures. The harassment often takes a form of harsh treatment of the Tamil population in relation to the attacks. We would like to urge the Government of Sri Lanka and the Security Forces to prevent such actions from taking place.
“It is important to emphasise that the current situation also stems from the fact that alternative armed elements have been able to operate freely in the East in Government controlled areas. These forces have destabilised the ceasefire and are one of the major reasons for increased tension between the Parties. We therefore urge the Government of Sri Lanka to face up to its responsibility to disarm these other armed groups so that the rule of law can be reinstated in the affected areas.
“Increasing amount of civilians is being caught in the middle leading to major disturbances in the local communities. The conflict between the two sides is hurting civilians and preventing any restoration to normalcy.
“We urge both Parties to consider carefully how they can mend the situation instead of merely blaming each other and pointing fingers. The Parties need to come up with firm confidence building measures with the truthful aim of reaching a peaceful solution. Actions speak louder than words and we feel that we need to see more commitment from the two Parties if war is not to break out in Sri Lanka.”
Blast at truce monitors’ offices
Hours after international monitors urged the Sri Lankan government to disarm Army-backed paramilitaries, a bomb ripped last Friday through one of their offices in the east of the island.
The blast in the town of Batticaloa destroyed a vehicle of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), but no one was hurt. Three more SLMM vehicles were damaged.
It was the first attack on the Scandinavian officers supervising the February 2002 ceasefire agreement.
“It was definitely not intended to kill anyone,” SLMM spokeswoman Helen Olafsdottir told Reuters.
“We cannot rule out that it was someone trying to scare us away. We are not pulling out - it would send a strong message that if anyone threw a firecracker in our direction we would leave.”
The Liberation Tigers condemned the attack, saying said they were “extremely disturbed and concerned” and describing it as an attempt to destroy the cease fire agreement. “We are very relieved that no one was hurt in this attack,”
“We would like to express our strong condemnation of this distressing attack on unarmed peace monitors whose presence has been invaluable for the people of this island,” the LTTE said in a letter.
“Our leadership views this attack as an attempt to wreck the ceasefire agreement. Our leadership also expresses the continued support of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to the SLMM to implement the ceasefire agreement in its fully intended meaning and to rectify the deteriorating ceasefire environment.”
“We wish to bring to your notice that this attack has taken place within a Sri Lanka Army High Security Zone. An SLA base is located near this SLMM office and this SLA base also houses the paramilitary groups,” the LTTE also said.
In a statement issued Friday last week the Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission (SLMM) lamented over 100 people have been killed last month half of which were civilians.
“Killings and serious attacks continue and the situation is getting worse. It is our assessment that if the Parties don’t react immediately they risk going back to war,” the monitors said.
The SLMM condemned the attack on the Navy bus as “brutal murder” and said it was “yet another serious blow to the Ceasefire Agreement.”
The government blames the Tigers for the attack, a charge the LTTE denies. The Tigers said Tamil residents incensed by continuing military harassment are striking back.
The SLMM said it “believes that if such attacks or retaliation of such attacks continue the Ceasefire Agreement will be over.”
Whilst acknowledging “several reports of civilian harassment by the Security Forces” the monitors also said it was not enough for the Tigers to disclaim responsibility and that the “ LTTE’s indifference to these attacks worrying.”
However the monitors urged the Sri Lankan government to restrain its military.
The SLMM said the Sri Lankan government must take steps to “to face up to its responsibility to disarm … armed groups” – referring to Army-backed paramilitaries - operating in areas controlled by its military.
These “alternative armed elements”, the SLMM said, “have been able to operate freely in the East in Government controlled areas.”
“These forces have destabilised the ceasefire and are one of the major reasons for increased tension between the Parties [to the ceasefire],” the SLMM said.
Extracts from the statement follow:
“Various actors in the international community have blamed the LTTE for attacking Government troops but the LTTE has continuously denied any involvement. The LTTE claims that “the People” are behind the attacks on the military. SLMM finds this explanation unacceptable. It is safe to say that LTTE involvement cannot be ruled out and we find the LTTE’s indifference to these attacks worrying.
“It is however clear that people are suffering and unfortunately there have been several reports of civilian harassment by the Security Forces in relation to increased security measures. The harassment often takes a form of harsh treatment of the Tamil population in relation to the attacks. We would like to urge the Government of Sri Lanka and the Security Forces to prevent such actions from taking place.
“It is important to emphasise that the current situation also stems from the fact that alternative armed elements have been able to operate freely in the East in Government controlled areas. These forces have destabilised the ceasefire and are one of the major reasons for increased tension between the Parties. We therefore urge the Government of Sri Lanka to face up to its responsibility to disarm these other armed groups so that the rule of law can be reinstated in the affected areas.
“Increasing amount of civilians is being caught in the middle leading to major disturbances in the local communities. The conflict between the two sides is hurting civilians and preventing any restoration to normalcy.
“We urge both Parties to consider carefully how they can mend the situation instead of merely blaming each other and pointing fingers. The Parties need to come up with firm confidence building measures with the truthful aim of reaching a peaceful solution. Actions speak louder than words and we feel that we need to see more commitment from the two Parties if war is not to break out in Sri Lanka.”
Blast at truce monitors’ offices
Hours after international monitors urged the Sri Lankan government to disarm Army-backed paramilitaries, a bomb ripped last Friday through one of their offices in the east of the island.
The blast in the town of Batticaloa destroyed a vehicle of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), but no one was hurt. Three more SLMM vehicles were damaged.
It was the first attack on the Scandinavian officers supervising the February 2002 ceasefire agreement.
“It was definitely not intended to kill anyone,” SLMM spokeswoman Helen Olafsdottir told Reuters.
“We cannot rule out that it was someone trying to scare us away. We are not pulling out - it would send a strong message that if anyone threw a firecracker in our direction we would leave.”
The Liberation Tigers condemned the attack, saying said they were “extremely disturbed and concerned” and describing it as an attempt to destroy the cease fire agreement. “We are very relieved that no one was hurt in this attack,”
“We would like to express our strong condemnation of this distressing attack on unarmed peace monitors whose presence has been invaluable for the people of this island,” the LTTE said in a letter.
“Our leadership views this attack as an attempt to wreck the ceasefire agreement. Our leadership also expresses the continued support of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to the SLMM to implement the ceasefire agreement in its fully intended meaning and to rectify the deteriorating ceasefire environment.”
“We wish to bring to your notice that this attack has taken place within a Sri Lanka Army High Security Zone. An SLA base is located near this SLMM office and this SLA base also houses the paramilitary groups,” the LTTE also said.
