World

Cease-Fire Ceased In Sri Lanka

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

October 19, 2000 / 10:00 AM EDT / CBS

Tamil Tiger rebels decided Monday to end their unilateral cease-fire, jeopardizing prospects of talks with the Sri Lankan government to resolve the conflict.

In a statement from their northern Wanni headquarters, the guerrillas said Sri Lanka, Britain, the United States and India were to blame for the rebels' decision to not extend their four-month-old truce, which ends at midnight Tuesday.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam were banned in Sri Lanka in 1996 and later outlawed in the United States, Britain, India and Malaysia. Guerrillas demand the ban be lifted and a government cease-fire be ordered as a condition to talks.

"We are compelled to make this painful decision as a consequence of the hard-line intransigent attitude of the Sri Lankan government," the rebel statement said. The rebels said their gesture to call a cease-fire had proved "futile," blaming the government for failing to respond.

The Tigers declared a temporary truce on Christmas Eve and kept extending it on a monthly basis, expecting the government to reciprocate as a precursor to a Norwegian-sponsored dialogue. But the government announced only a short holiday truce April 12-17 to mark the Sinhalese and Tamil New Year.

There was no immediate government response to the rebel statement. Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar has said the government would announce a date for peace talks before the end of April.

Formed in 1976, the Tigers have been fighting since 1983 for a separate Tamil homeland in the country's north and east. It accuses the majority Sinhalese of widespread discrimination in education and jobs, a charge the government denies. More than 63,000 people have been killed in the war.

The last round of talks in 1995 ended abruptly with the rebels resuming fighting.

Monday's statement followed an escalation of fighting in the north. At least eight rebels have been killed and 11 sailors wounded in sea battles since April 16. The rebels said they lost 160 fighters and another 400 were wounded since they announced the truce in December.

According to the State Department, the Tigers are blamed for assassinating Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa in 1993 and Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.

It claims 10,000 fighters in Sri Lanka and controls the northern and eastern coasts of the island nation, while relying on networks of Tamil communities in North America and Europe for funding.