Feb. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Sri Lanka’s conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam is to defeat terrorism and isn’t about Tamil ethnicity, the country’s ambassador to the U.S. said.
“It is a struggle to rid Sri Lanka of a globally recognized terrorist organization -- the LTTE,” Jaliya Wickramasuriya said in a statement in Washington to coincide with a Senate hearing on the conflict. Most of the Tamil population lives in harmony with Sinhalese, Muslim and other ethnic groups, he said.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government is giving the “utmost priority” to protecting civilians caught in the fighting, the ambassador said in an e-mailed statement.
The United Nations says thousands of civilians are facing a humanitarian catastrophe in Sri Lanka’s north where they are caught in the army’s drive to defeat the Tamil Tigers. Sri Lanka’s government accuses the LTTE of holding about 70,000 people against their will, while the Tamil Tigers say the military is shelling and bombing civilian areas.
The LTTE, which is fighting for a separate Tamil homeland, is designated a terrorist organization by the U.S., the European Union and India. Tamils made up 11.9 percent of Sri Lanka’s population of 20 million and the Sinhalese almost 74 percent, according to a 2001 census.
“We realize that once terrorism has ended, the only way forward is to bring all the parties together,” Wickramasuriya said. Rajapaksa has “called upon all Tamil political parties in the parliament to begin planning for a post-conflict society.”
The Senate foreign relations committee began a hearing on the Sri Lankan conflict earlier this week.
Human Rights
The State Department criticized the government and the LTTE in its report on human rights worldwide in 2008 that was issued yesterday in Washington.
“The government’s respect for human rights declined as the armed conflict escalated,” the department said. “The overwhelming majority of victims of human rights violations, such as killings and disappearances, were young male Tamils.”
The LTTE attacked and killed a “large number of civilians,” and was responsible for torture, detention and forced recruitment, including children, it said.
The U.S. and UN earlier this week called on Sri Lanka and the LTTE to begin talks to end the fighting. The LTTE said Feb. 23 it is ready for a cease-fire that leads to discussions on a political settlement. Sri Lanka has rejected any negotiations, saying it wants the group’s unconditional surrender.
Mortal Threat
No one denies that there is a terrorist problem in Sri Lanka that “poses a mortal threat to Sri Lankans in all communities,” U.K. Foreign Secretary David Miliband told lawmakers two days ago, according to the U.K. Foreign Office Web site.
“The resolution to that terrorist problem cannot be achieved at the expense of the rights of minority communities in Sri Lanka,” he said.
The government in Colombo earlier this month rejected the U.K.’s appointment of a special envoy for Sri Lanka, saying it wasn’t properly consulted and the move was “intrusive and disrespectful” to the country.
“It is deeply to be regretted that the appointment of an envoy has not yet been met with a welcome in Colombo,” Miliband said. “But that is what we are working for.”
The military said Feb. 24 that soldiers reached the outskirts of Puthukkudiyirippu, the last rebel-held town in the northeast near the port of Mullaitivu.
The army says it has driven the Tamil Tigers into an 87 square-kilometer (34 square-mile) pocket of land since capturing their main bases in January.
As many as 250,000 civilians are caught in conflict zones, facing shortages of food and medicines, according to the UN and international aid groups.
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“It is a struggle to rid Sri Lanka of a globally recognized terrorist organization -- the LTTE,” Jaliya Wickramasuriya said in a statement in Washington to coincide with a Senate hearing on the conflict. Most of the Tamil population lives in harmony with Sinhalese, Muslim and other ethnic groups, he said.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government is giving the “utmost priority” to protecting civilians caught in the fighting, the ambassador said in an e-mailed statement.
The United Nations says thousands of civilians are facing a humanitarian catastrophe in Sri Lanka’s north where they are caught in the army’s drive to defeat the Tamil Tigers. Sri Lanka’s government accuses the LTTE of holding about 70,000 people against their will, while the Tamil Tigers say the military is shelling and bombing civilian areas.
The LTTE, which is fighting for a separate Tamil homeland, is designated a terrorist organization by the U.S., the European Union and India. Tamils made up 11.9 percent of Sri Lanka’s population of 20 million and the Sinhalese almost 74 percent, according to a 2001 census.
“We realize that once terrorism has ended, the only way forward is to bring all the parties together,” Wickramasuriya said. Rajapaksa has “called upon all Tamil political parties in the parliament to begin planning for a post-conflict society.”
The Senate foreign relations committee began a hearing on the Sri Lankan conflict earlier this week.
Human Rights
The State Department criticized the government and the LTTE in its report on human rights worldwide in 2008 that was issued yesterday in Washington.
“The government’s respect for human rights declined as the armed conflict escalated,” the department said. “The overwhelming majority of victims of human rights violations, such as killings and disappearances, were young male Tamils.”
The LTTE attacked and killed a “large number of civilians,” and was responsible for torture, detention and forced recruitment, including children, it said.
The U.S. and UN earlier this week called on Sri Lanka and the LTTE to begin talks to end the fighting. The LTTE said Feb. 23 it is ready for a cease-fire that leads to discussions on a political settlement. Sri Lanka has rejected any negotiations, saying it wants the group’s unconditional surrender.
Mortal Threat
No one denies that there is a terrorist problem in Sri Lanka that “poses a mortal threat to Sri Lankans in all communities,” U.K. Foreign Secretary David Miliband told lawmakers two days ago, according to the U.K. Foreign Office Web site.
“The resolution to that terrorist problem cannot be achieved at the expense of the rights of minority communities in Sri Lanka,” he said.
The government in Colombo earlier this month rejected the U.K.’s appointment of a special envoy for Sri Lanka, saying it wasn’t properly consulted and the move was “intrusive and disrespectful” to the country.
“It is deeply to be regretted that the appointment of an envoy has not yet been met with a welcome in Colombo,” Miliband said. “But that is what we are working for.”
The military said Feb. 24 that soldiers reached the outskirts of Puthukkudiyirippu, the last rebel-held town in the northeast near the port of Mullaitivu.
The army says it has driven the Tamil Tigers into an 87 square-kilometer (34 square-mile) pocket of land since capturing their main bases in January.
As many as 250,000 civilians are caught in conflict zones, facing shortages of food and medicines, according to the UN and international aid groups.
Water for Elephants
21
Kindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, Graphite, 6" Display with New E Ink Pearl Technology
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