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| Sri Lanka |
| Lanka hits out at West over ceasefire calls |
| 2009-05-04 |
| Sri Lanka on Sunday severely criticised Western nations for calling for a ceasefire that would end its military offensive against the Tamil Tiger rebels before a complete victory has been secured. The rebels asked Britain and France to broker a truce, but the government has vowed to fight on until the guerrillas, who have been campaigning for an independent Tamil homeland for 37 years, have been crushed. International concern has focused on the fate of 50,000 civilians thought to be trapped inside the last patch of territory held by the Tigers, and 100,000 people held in government camps after fleeing the fighting. "Never did history unmask the hypocrisy and the sanctimony of the Western powers than (it has in) their behaviour towards Sri Lanka during recent times," the Defence Ministry said in a statement on its website. It accused unidentified Western nations of making "ridiculous demands" on the government, including offering an amnesty to the rebels and allowing the Tiger leaders to be rescued -- as well as agreeing to a ceasefire. Britain's Foreign Minister David Miliband and his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner left Sri Lanka on Thursday after urging Colombo to stop the fighting and allow humanitarian workers access to the conflict zone. The ministry statement contrasted the stance taken by "Western powers" with what it said was "whole-hearted support" given to the Sri Lankan government by a long list of countries such as China, India, Japan and Russia. "But for their understanding on our plight and the trust they placed in us, we would never have been able to come this far in our battle against terrorism," it said. Truce: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said in a letter to the British and French ministers that they wanted an immediate ceasefire to end the bloodshed. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 Britian and France are just representing their constituencies, nothing more. |
| Posted by: gromky 2009-05-04 10:40 |
| #2 Tell you what, give us some time to think this truce thing over. In the meantime, feel free to go about your business. We'll get back to you. Eventually. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2009-05-04 02:12 |
| #1 After all, the West has dealt with terrorism so efficiently. |
| Posted by: gorb 2009-05-04 01:57 |