Sri Lanka’s leader calls halt to fighting for holiday
The president of Sri Lanka said Sunday that the nation’s military would go into defensive mode for a two-day period during the island’s New Year holiday early this week, allowing civilians to flee the war zone.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa told the armed forces to halt offensive operations during the Sri Lankan New Year -- celebrated today and Tuesday by both the ethnic minority Tamils and the majority Sinhalese -- even as he called on rebels to admit they have been defeated, renounce terrorism, lay down their weapons and surrender.
The move fell short of the cease-fire that foreign governments, the United Nations and human rights groups had called for.
But it promised some relief for tens of thousands of noncombatants trapped in an area of intense fighting between the army and Tamil Tiger rebels in the northern part of the island.
Sri Lanka’s civil war has raged for the last quarter-century. The Tigers are fighting for an independent homeland for ethnic Tamils, many of whom say they are discriminated against by the Sinhalese. The Tigers have been labeled a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union.
In recent months, the army has made significant strides, forcing the Tigers into a small patch of land along the northern coast.
The U.N. says about 100,000 civilians are trapped in the war zone, although exact numbers are difficult to assess given government restrictions on independent news media and most humanitarian groups visiting the affected area.
Sri Lanka has been under growing international pressure to help civilians trapped by the conflict. On Saturday, at least 100,000 protesters marched in London demanding an immediate end to Sri Lanka’s military offensive and the suspension of development aid. Sri Lanka is a former British colony.
Britain welcomed the news of the pause, but said it must be observed by both sides and long enough that civilians can leave the conflict zone safely.
“Temporary relief for civilians must be the first step toward a resolution of the conflict,” British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said in a statement Sunday.
“The people of Sri Lanka have suffered for a long time in the absence of credible moves toward peaceful resolution of the dispute.”
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