Tamil rebels 'ready for ceasefire'
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
COLOMBO, Feb 23 (CNN): Sri Lanka's separatist Tamil rebels said today that they are ready for a ceasefire with the government, but told the United Nations in a letter that they refuse to lay down their weapons.
The Tamil Tigers political head Balasingham Nadesan said in the letter that international calls for the rebels to lay down arms "is not helpful for resolving the conflict," saying that the weapons "are the protective shield of the Tamil people and their tool for political liberation."
"We are ready to discuss, cooperate, and work together in all their efforts to bring an immediate ceasefire and work towards a political settlement," Balesan wrote in the letter to the U.N., which also was sent to Britain, Japan, Norway and the United States.
The rebels have in recent months suffered unprecedented military defeats in their 25-year struggle against the government.
The Tamil Tigers political head Balasingham Nadesan said in the letter that international calls for the rebels to lay down arms "is not helpful for resolving the conflict," saying that the weapons "are the protective shield of the Tamil people and their tool for political liberation."
"We are ready to discuss, cooperate, and work together in all their efforts to bring an immediate ceasefire and work towards a political settlement," Balesan wrote in the letter to the U.N., which also was sent to Britain, Japan, Norway and the United States.
The rebels have in recent months suffered unprecedented military defeats in their 25-year struggle against the government.