Despite a lull of several days which raised hopes Sri Lanka’s shadow war might have eased in the wake of the election of a new President, violence soared to unprecedented levels this week.
A series of grenade and mine blasts killed at least fourteen Sri Lankan soldiers in the northern Jaffna and raised anxieties about a renewed conflict, particularly after the Army called of a meeting with the LTTE under the aegis of international truce monitors and a tough new commander took charge of it.
Anxieties have been fuelled by the arrest Tuesday of five Tamil Tigers by the Sri Lankan navy, one of whom swallowed her cyanide capsule, but did not die.
As this edition went to print tension prevailed not only in Jaffna but also in the restive east where killings of Tamils and Muslims threatened an outbreak of long absent communal violence.
In Colombo the security forces’ presence on the streets was heavily stepped up and the stock market plummeted this week after two separate landmine attacks in Jaffna killed over half a dozen soldiers each.
Several Army-back paramilitaries were also killed in an abortive raid on Tamil Tiger positions in the eastern Batticaloa district.
International truce monitors say over two hundred people have been killed this year in an simmering shadow war between Army-backed paramilitaries and the LTTE.
However, after the Presidential elections on November 17 which was won by the hardline Sinhala nationalist favourite, Mahinda Rajapakse, there had been a noticeable absence of violence, sparking optimism amongst the truce observers of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM).
However the lull was shattered last Thursday when paramilitaries fired on three farmers who had been active in organising the LTTE’s Heroes Day celebrations in Jaffna. Two were killed and one wounded at a tea shop close to Athiyar Hindu College in Neerveli at 8 p.m. Thursday.
This week, protesting the "countless attacks" in Jaffna peninsula, Trincomalee and Batticaloa districts, the SLMM warned that "there is a real danger that these disturbances and hostilities can spread and result in irreparable deterioration of security and prevent any real restoration of normalcy in the affected communities."
In a statement issued before the second claymore blast occurred in Jaffna, the United States condemned the first attack, saying “such violence is inconsistent with LTTE claims to be committed to the peace process.”
Saying the US “remains gravely concerned about persistent violations of the Ceasefire Agreement, particularly over the past few weeks,” the State Department added: “We call on both the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE to take immediate action to prevent violence and to uphold the terms of the Ceasefire Agreement.”
In the wake of the first claymore attack a meeting had been hastily convened by the SLMM between SLA and LTTE officials at the Muhamalai, the border crossing between the two sides controlled territories in Jaffna, the Army pulled out Monday.
SLA officials told the SLMM and LTTE Sri Lanka’s Peace Secretariat in Colombo had declined permission to the SLA Jaffna Commander, Maj. Gen. Sunil Tennakoon, to attend the proposed meeting.
However, Lt. General Sarath Fonseka, Sri Lanka’s new Army commander, said Tuesday that a dialogue must be established with the Tamil Tigers on the ongoing cease-fire agreement.
"We have to plan a strategy to prevent such attacks. Safety of my men comes first. But we need to talk to the LTTE to get their assistance to prevent such attacks," Fonseka said, adding that there had been a communication gap between the Tigers and the military in Jaffna. He did not elaborate.
He ruled out the possibility that the two claymore mine attackswould "lead to conventional war of a very high magnitude" - but his troops were ready to face any threat from the LTTE.
The spike in violence has raised fears of a looming war after the three year old Norwegian brokered cease-fire came under pressure from a cycle of violence.
However, last month LTTE leader Velupillai Pirapaharan said he was prepared to give time for the new President to come up with a credible plan for advancing the peace process and warned the Tamil struggle would resume it was not forthcoming.
Meanwhile in Colombo, the hardline monks party, the Jeyathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) Monday demanded the Government to place the country on war alert.
Warning that Colombo urgently needs to go on war footing, the JHU urged the government to adopt urgent measures to ensure security in Colombo and in southern Sri Lanka.
The monks were speaking prior to a meeting with President Rajapakse, elected on November 27 on a strident Sinhala nationalist platform.
On Wednesday Yasushi Akashi, Representative of the Government of Japan for Peace-building, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction in Sri Lanka began a fice-day visit to the island.
He is scheduled to meet President Rajapakse and other Sri Lankan officials, it is not known if he will meet with LTTE officials.
A series of grenade and mine blasts killed at least fourteen Sri Lankan soldiers in the northern Jaffna and raised anxieties about a renewed conflict, particularly after the Army called of a meeting with the LTTE under the aegis of international truce monitors and a tough new commander took charge of it.
Anxieties have been fuelled by the arrest Tuesday of five Tamil Tigers by the Sri Lankan navy, one of whom swallowed her cyanide capsule, but did not die.
As this edition went to print tension prevailed not only in Jaffna but also in the restive east where killings of Tamils and Muslims threatened an outbreak of long absent communal violence.
In Colombo the security forces’ presence on the streets was heavily stepped up and the stock market plummeted this week after two separate landmine attacks in Jaffna killed over half a dozen soldiers each.
Several Army-back paramilitaries were also killed in an abortive raid on Tamil Tiger positions in the eastern Batticaloa district.
International truce monitors say over two hundred people have been killed this year in an simmering shadow war between Army-backed paramilitaries and the LTTE.
However, after the Presidential elections on November 17 which was won by the hardline Sinhala nationalist favourite, Mahinda Rajapakse, there had been a noticeable absence of violence, sparking optimism amongst the truce observers of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM).
However the lull was shattered last Thursday when paramilitaries fired on three farmers who had been active in organising the LTTE’s Heroes Day celebrations in Jaffna. Two were killed and one wounded at a tea shop close to Athiyar Hindu College in Neerveli at 8 p.m. Thursday.
This week, protesting the "countless attacks" in Jaffna peninsula, Trincomalee and Batticaloa districts, the SLMM warned that "there is a real danger that these disturbances and hostilities can spread and result in irreparable deterioration of security and prevent any real restoration of normalcy in the affected communities."
In a statement issued before the second claymore blast occurred in Jaffna, the United States condemned the first attack, saying “such violence is inconsistent with LTTE claims to be committed to the peace process.”
Saying the US “remains gravely concerned about persistent violations of the Ceasefire Agreement, particularly over the past few weeks,” the State Department added: “We call on both the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE to take immediate action to prevent violence and to uphold the terms of the Ceasefire Agreement.”
In the wake of the first claymore attack a meeting had been hastily convened by the SLMM between SLA and LTTE officials at the Muhamalai, the border crossing between the two sides controlled territories in Jaffna, the Army pulled out Monday.
SLA officials told the SLMM and LTTE Sri Lanka’s Peace Secretariat in Colombo had declined permission to the SLA Jaffna Commander, Maj. Gen. Sunil Tennakoon, to attend the proposed meeting.
However, Lt. General Sarath Fonseka, Sri Lanka’s new Army commander, said Tuesday that a dialogue must be established with the Tamil Tigers on the ongoing cease-fire agreement.
"We have to plan a strategy to prevent such attacks. Safety of my men comes first. But we need to talk to the LTTE to get their assistance to prevent such attacks," Fonseka said, adding that there had been a communication gap between the Tigers and the military in Jaffna. He did not elaborate.
He ruled out the possibility that the two claymore mine attackswould "lead to conventional war of a very high magnitude" - but his troops were ready to face any threat from the LTTE.
The spike in violence has raised fears of a looming war after the three year old Norwegian brokered cease-fire came under pressure from a cycle of violence.
However, last month LTTE leader Velupillai Pirapaharan said he was prepared to give time for the new President to come up with a credible plan for advancing the peace process and warned the Tamil struggle would resume it was not forthcoming.
Meanwhile in Colombo, the hardline monks party, the Jeyathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) Monday demanded the Government to place the country on war alert.
Warning that Colombo urgently needs to go on war footing, the JHU urged the government to adopt urgent measures to ensure security in Colombo and in southern Sri Lanka.
The monks were speaking prior to a meeting with President Rajapakse, elected on November 27 on a strident Sinhala nationalist platform.
On Wednesday Yasushi Akashi, Representative of the Government of Japan for Peace-building, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction in Sri Lanka began a fice-day visit to the island.
He is scheduled to meet President Rajapakse and other Sri Lankan officials, it is not known if he will meet with LTTE officials.
