Sri Lanka rejects ceasefire pleas
Friday, 15 May 2009
COLOMBO, May 14 (AFP): Sri Lanka rejected international calls to halt its final offensive against Tamil rebels Thursday, hours after the United Nations Security Council called for civilian lives to be spared.
Human rights groups and foreign governments, including the United States, have become increasingly vocal in their calls for a ceasefire to allow trapped non-combatants to escape, but Colombo remained unmoved.
"We are not going to succumb to international pressure to stop the offensive," said Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, who argued that Sri Lanka was being unfairly targeted.
"In Pakistan and Afghanistan there are similar conflicts but no one is asking them to have a peace agreement or a ceasefire," Abeywardena told reporters.
"There is no international pressure there," he added. "Why only target us?"
His comments followed a statement issued late Wednesday by the UN Security Council urging both the government and the Tamil Tigers to "ensure the safety of civilians" and "respect their obligations under international humanitarian law."
The Sri Lankan authorities estimate that up to 20,000 civilians are being held in the small northeastern pocket of coastal jungle where government troops have cornered the rump of the once-powerful Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
The statement agreed by the UN Security Council had been put forward by France, Britain and Austria, who had lobbied hard for the world body to address the "appalling" crisis in Sri Lanka.
The UN and Obama also appealed to Sri Lanka to stop using heavy weapons to avoid civilian casualties, as troops pushed to dismantle the last remaining rebel stronghold.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka pressed ahead with its battle to destroy the Tamil Tiger rebels Thursday despite international appeals for the two sides to end their civil war and let thousands of civilians trapped in the war zone escape to safety.
The government has vowed to end the 25-year-old civil war here and has cornered the separatist rebels in a tiny strip of coastal land. Recent fighting in the area has killed hundreds of civilians.
Media Minister Lakshman Abeywardena said the military was continuing its offensive. "There is no change in the government stance, despite pressure coming from several countries," he said.
With the death toll from the fighting mounting, President Barack Obama Wednesday demanded the rebels lay down their arms and release the estimated 50,000 civilians they have been accused of holding as human shields. He also admonished the government to stop firing artillery into the war zone.
His comments came hours after artillery shells slammed into a makeshift hospital in the war zone, killing at least 50 people, setting an ambulance ablaze and forcing the medical staff to huddle in bunkers for safety, doctors said. It was the third deadly attack on the hospital this month.
Reports of the fighting are difficult to verify because the government has barred journalists and aid workers from the war zone.
Human rights groups and foreign governments, including the United States, have become increasingly vocal in their calls for a ceasefire to allow trapped non-combatants to escape, but Colombo remained unmoved.
"We are not going to succumb to international pressure to stop the offensive," said Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, who argued that Sri Lanka was being unfairly targeted.
"In Pakistan and Afghanistan there are similar conflicts but no one is asking them to have a peace agreement or a ceasefire," Abeywardena told reporters.
"There is no international pressure there," he added. "Why only target us?"
His comments followed a statement issued late Wednesday by the UN Security Council urging both the government and the Tamil Tigers to "ensure the safety of civilians" and "respect their obligations under international humanitarian law."
The Sri Lankan authorities estimate that up to 20,000 civilians are being held in the small northeastern pocket of coastal jungle where government troops have cornered the rump of the once-powerful Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
The statement agreed by the UN Security Council had been put forward by France, Britain and Austria, who had lobbied hard for the world body to address the "appalling" crisis in Sri Lanka.
The UN and Obama also appealed to Sri Lanka to stop using heavy weapons to avoid civilian casualties, as troops pushed to dismantle the last remaining rebel stronghold.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka pressed ahead with its battle to destroy the Tamil Tiger rebels Thursday despite international appeals for the two sides to end their civil war and let thousands of civilians trapped in the war zone escape to safety.
The government has vowed to end the 25-year-old civil war here and has cornered the separatist rebels in a tiny strip of coastal land. Recent fighting in the area has killed hundreds of civilians.
Media Minister Lakshman Abeywardena said the military was continuing its offensive. "There is no change in the government stance, despite pressure coming from several countries," he said.
With the death toll from the fighting mounting, President Barack Obama Wednesday demanded the rebels lay down their arms and release the estimated 50,000 civilians they have been accused of holding as human shields. He also admonished the government to stop firing artillery into the war zone.
His comments came hours after artillery shells slammed into a makeshift hospital in the war zone, killing at least 50 people, setting an ambulance ablaze and forcing the medical staff to huddle in bunkers for safety, doctors said. It was the third deadly attack on the hospital this month.
Reports of the fighting are difficult to verify because the government has barred journalists and aid workers from the war zone.