Europe condemns 'reckless' Tamil Tiger attack
The European Union has called a Tamil rebel attack on a Sri Lankan navy convoy a reckless move that puts the future of peace talks in serious jeopardy.
The warnings follow a spectacular sea battle on Thursday in which rebel suicide boats rammed and sank a navy patrol craft. The apparent main target, a troop carrier with 710 soldiers, escaped unharmed.
The government said about 50 insurgents were killed and 17 sailors left dead or missing following the engagement at sea – the largest such battle since a 2002 cease-fire was signed.
“The reckless behaviour of the (Tamil Tigers) ... can only contribute to a dangerous escalation that results in growing hostilities and jeopardises any possibility for future peace talks,” the European Union said in a statement seen today.
“The attack on a troop carrier and the reported sinking of an accompanying navy vessel is the latest and most severe (truce) violation,” the EU said, adding it backs an observation by European cease-fire monitors that the Sri Lankan government had rightful control of the sea.
Earlier, the rebels claimed that Sri Lanka’s navy encroached on their sovereign rights by approaching coastal areas they control, and warned they will attack any vessels threatening their homeland.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam also warned the monitors that they could become targets if they are aboard navy vessels off the coast of rebel-controlled areas in the north and east.
In a letter yesterday to the cease-fire monitors, the rebels accused the navy of disturbing civilian and LTTE activities, warning: “If (the) Sri Lankan navy disrupts our activities we will definitely retaliate.”
“Nobody has the right to pass judgment on the sovereign rights of our access to the adjacent sea and air space of our homeland,” rebels’ top political head, S.P. Thamilselvan was quoted as saying by the pro-rebel TamilNet Web site.
More than 170 people have died in violence since the beginning of April, and recent attempts to restart stalled peace talks have failed.
The Tigers began fighting in 1983 to create a separate state for ethnic minority Tamils, accusing the majority Sinhalese of discrimination. More than 65,000 people died in the conflict before the 2002 truce.
