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| Sri Lanka |
| Sri Lanka rejects EU calls for truce |
| 2009-04-30 |
| [Iran Press TV Latest] British and French foreign ministers have failed to secure a truce between Sri Lankan forces and Tamil rebels to allow aid into the war-torn region. The two ministers arrived in Colombo on Wednesday, amid mounting international concern about the plight of civilians trapped in a tiny strip of land in northeastern Sri Lanka. They were to negotiate a temporary ceasefire between the government forces and rebels from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). "We tried very hard, we insisted, and we insisted, but it is up to our friends to allow it or not," French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on Wednesday after talks with his Sri Lankan counterpart, Rohita Bogollagama. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband also acknowledged that talks had ended in failure, reminding the Sri Lankan government that calls for a ceasefire were "only to save civilians" and not the rebels. Government officials in Sri Lanka have refused to back down, arguing that after months of heavy fighting, they are now in the final phase of a campaign to crush the rebels who have been fighting for an independent homeland for ethnic Tamils for the last 25 years. They stress that accepting a truce will only allow the rebels to regroup. According to the United Nations, there are over 50,000 non-combatants trapped in an area of about six square kilometers, facing severe food and medicine shortages. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #6 why is it taking so long to capture six sq km? To spare the civilians, the Sri Lankan armed forces are not using heavy weapons nor attacking the declared safe zone. The LTTE have fired on the civilians under their control to keep them from fleeing and to try to score propaganda points. |
| Posted by: ed 2009-04-30 09:38 |
| #5 3dc - They've captured the six sq km - it's not going anywhere. I suspect they're sorting out the refugees from the POWs from the most wanted. |
| Posted by: Halliburton - Mysterious Conspiracy Division 2009-04-30 09:37 |
| #4 "We tried very hard, we insisted, and we insisted, but it is up to our friends to allow it or not," French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said... And we huffed and we puffed... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2009-04-30 09:22 |
| #3 Ah, the results of EU soft power. The Lankans recognize it for what it is. |
| Posted by: Spot 2009-04-30 08:08 |
| #2 Blessed be the Peacemakers and anointed with oil---boiling oil. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2009-04-30 03:00 |
| #1 why is it taking so long to capture six sq km? |
| Posted by: 3dc 2009-04-30 02:18 |