The new head of Sri Lanka’s truce monitors takes over a team cut by nearly half this week amid warnings by his predecessor of “mission impossible” to satisfy both sides in the vicious conflict.
Former Norwegian army chief Lars Solvberg will run a 30-strong group after members from the European Union were ordered to quit by the end of the month by the Tamil Tigers.
The 25-nation bloc branded the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) a terrorist group in May, prompting it to retaliate by demanding the ouster of EU members Sweden, Finland and Denmark from the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM).
Retired Swedish general Ulf Henricsson who formally steps down this week. Henricsson said the monitors had come under fire from both sides during his attempts to rule on violations.
“It’s very easy just to realise that with 50 percent of the people (now), you are doing 50 percent of the job. That’s a concern,” he added.
“It’s much easier to hide the shit that both parties are doing,” Henricsson said, highlighting extra-judicial killings and attacks using fragmentation mines blamed on both sides.
Solvberg, who arrived in Sri Lanka last week, joined Henricsson in meetings with senior figures from both sides before the Swede’s departure.
As a “goodwill” gesture, the Tigers released a Sri Lankan policeman held for nearly a year following a request by Henricsson.
But Henricsson warned peace hopes were not high even though the two sides are in a military stalemate.
He said there were few signs of a negotiated settlement and said the reduced monitoring force faced a tough task at a time of increasing violence with at least 1,500 people killed since December.
Mine attacks, airstrikes and mortaring of enemy positions have become daily events along with claims of abductions, recruitment of child soldiers and killings.
Henricsson - who blamed the EU’s ban on the Tigers for fuelling the rise in violence - had wanted to increase the size of the monitoring force but despite Norway and Iceland bolstering their numbers, his successor Solvberg must monitor the ceasefire with a team cut from 57 to 30.
Former Norwegian army chief Lars Solvberg will run a 30-strong group after members from the European Union were ordered to quit by the end of the month by the Tamil Tigers.
The 25-nation bloc branded the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) a terrorist group in May, prompting it to retaliate by demanding the ouster of EU members Sweden, Finland and Denmark from the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM).
Retired Swedish general Ulf Henricsson who formally steps down this week. Henricsson said the monitors had come under fire from both sides during his attempts to rule on violations.
“It’s very easy just to realise that with 50 percent of the people (now), you are doing 50 percent of the job. That’s a concern,” he added.
“It’s much easier to hide the shit that both parties are doing,” Henricsson said, highlighting extra-judicial killings and attacks using fragmentation mines blamed on both sides.
Solvberg, who arrived in Sri Lanka last week, joined Henricsson in meetings with senior figures from both sides before the Swede’s departure.
As a “goodwill” gesture, the Tigers released a Sri Lankan policeman held for nearly a year following a request by Henricsson.
But Henricsson warned peace hopes were not high even though the two sides are in a military stalemate.
He said there were few signs of a negotiated settlement and said the reduced monitoring force faced a tough task at a time of increasing violence with at least 1,500 people killed since December.
Mine attacks, airstrikes and mortaring of enemy positions have become daily events along with claims of abductions, recruitment of child soldiers and killings.
Henricsson - who blamed the EU’s ban on the Tigers for fuelling the rise in violence - had wanted to increase the size of the monitoring force but despite Norway and Iceland bolstering their numbers, his successor Solvberg must monitor the ceasefire with a team cut from 57 to 30.
