Sri Lanka on alert as Tamils warn of resuming war
Tamil Tigers today said they were losing patience with the Sri Lanka government and could be forced to resume their bloody civil war following the killing of two of the rebel group’s senior members in an attack they blame on military intelligence agents.
The warning came after the rebels and two civilians were killed by unidentified assailants on Sunday in Sri Lanka’s north-eastern port of Trincomalee – most of which is under government control.
“We cannot exercise patience while our cadres and civilians are being killed, maimed and threatened by the military intelligence wing in the military controlled areas,” SP Thamilselvan, the rebel’s political head said in a letter to Hagrup Haukland, the cease-fire monitoring chief.
“Such attacks, continuing to take place in the current confused climate, are a serious threat to the stability of the cease-fire agreement,” he said. “It appears to us that the government and its forces are taking actions to break the cease-fire agreement and to force a war on our nation.”
The military has denied involvement in the killings.
“These accusations are completely unfounded,” said Brig. Daya Ratnayake, military spokesman, “We have no involvement whatsoever.”
He said the attacks were possibly linked to factional fighting since a March 2004 split in the rebel group.
Meanwhile, schools, shops and offices were closed and transport interrupted in Trincomalee today to mark a general shutdown to protest Sunday’s killings.
“Tyres were burned in a few places and we have moved to remove some road barriers,” said local police chief Rohan Abeywardene.
The Tamil Tiger rebels waged a two-decade war for a separate state for Sri Lanka’s ethnic minority Tamils until the cease-fire halted the conflict in 2002.
Peace talks started after the truce, but have been deadlocked over rebel demands for wide-ranging autonomy.
