Sri Lanka on War Footing as Rebels Advance and India Rules Out Role

With Tamil rebels advancing along the northern peninsula and neighbor India refusing military help, Sri Lanka said Wednesday that it was shifting to war status.

The Cabinet suspended all non-urgent development projects for three months, saying funding would be diverted to the war effort if needed. “The Cabinet decided to put the country on a war footing . . . immediately,” Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera said.

The rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have made significant advances this week in the offensive to recapture their former capital, Jaffna. Sri Lanka had indicated that it would ask India, its nearest neighbor, for help in evacuating 40,000 soldiers trapped in Jaffna. But Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh said Wednesday that “military intervention by India in Sri Lanka is ruled out.”

The Sri Lankan Defense Ministry said Wednesday that its soldiers were holding on to the main defense line 15 miles south of Jaffna. But the Tamil Tigers said they had captured two crucial areas--a sea supply route and a seven-mile stretch of road along the coast between Elephant Pass and Kilali to the north.

The Tamil uprising for a separate homeland began in 1983. Rebels say Tamils have been discriminated against by the Sinhalese majority, a charge the government denies.