SINHALA REGIME DECEIVED INTL COMMUNITY!!! SINHALA MILITARY CONTINUE HEAVY WEAPON USE TOWARDS TAMIL IDPS!!!

MILITARY ENDS COMBAT OPERATIONS

Army says no ‘ceasefire’ but an end to use of heavy weapons

By Jamila Najmuddin

The government said yesterday it had ordered the military to stop using heavy calibre guns, combat aircraft and aerial weapons which could cause civilian causalities and to now focus on rescuing the civilians trapped in the no fire zone.

Military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara told Daily Mirror this was not a ceasefire but merely the end of the use of heavy weapons.

“There is no ceasefire. The rescue operations are continuing to save the civilians and we have already informed the troops in the North to stop using heavy weapons,” Brigadier Nanayakkara said.

The government in a statement issued last morning said it had decided that combat operations had come to an end and despite international hype that Sri Lanka had declared a ceasefire with the Tigers, the Defence Ministry said the security forces would continue with humanitarian operations to rescue the remaining 15,000 to 20,000 people held hostage by the LTTE while avoiding the use of heavy calibre weaponry in keeping with its zero civilian casualty policy.

“Security forces are now nearing victory, the combat mission reaching its conclusion and will in no way give a breather to the internationally banned terrorist outfit or its leaders who are wanted for thousands of war crimes and crimes against humanity” the Defence Ministry said quoting a defence official. The official said, the government’s decision was not a reaction to any form of 'international pressure' but solely timed with the success of the ongoing 'worlds largest hostage rescue operation'.

Moments after the government statement, India’s Home Minister P. Chidambaram welcomed the Sri Lankan government’s decision to stop combat operations in the island’s north, saying it offered “solace” to India.

“It means cessation of hostilities. To the Indian government it means that the Sri Lankan government has put an end to the ongoing offensive,” Mr. Chidambaram said.

He informed Mr. Karunanidhi of the Sri Lankan government’s decision and told the Indian media that “Sri Lanka’s announcement offers solace to us. The next course of action on the issue will be decided in consultation with all.”

He said he had seen the official statement of the Sri Lankan government which had clearly instructed its forces to confine themselves to saving the Tamil civilians in the war zone and not to engage in combat operations.

However reacting to Mr. Chidambaram’s statement, the Communist Party of India (CPI) said the Sri Lankan government's announcement that combat operations had reached their conclusion was an “exercise in deception” which India had “naively” accepted.

Party MP D. Raja said the Sri Lankan government had not given any assurance on a political package for the ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka and India “cannot be so naive not to understand this”.

”There is no let up in the war and Sri Lanka has not give up the war. There is no intention of giving a political package to Tamils,” he said.

Mr. Raja said Minister Chidambaram should not become an advocate of Sri Lanka and interpret what the Sri Lankan government had said as meaning the cessation of hostilities.

Meanwhile, the LTTE yesterday said two Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) fighter jets bombed civilian targets in Mullivaaykkaal after the announcement that the Sri Lankan forces would not deploy heavy weapons or carry out air attacks because of mounting pressure from the International Community.

LTTE's Peace Secretariat head S. Puleedevan, was quoted by TamilNet as saying that SLAF bombers attacked civilian targets at Mullvaaykkaal at 12:50 p.m. and again at 1:10 p.m. despite the announcement to cease such attacks. He accused the Sri Lankan government of attempting to deceive the International Community, including the people of Tamil Nadu," with the announcement.
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Assurance not respected in the past- Holmes

By Easwaran Rutnam

The UN under Secretary General for humanitarian affairs John Holmes yesterday welcomed the government announcement that it was suspending the use of heavy weapons but said similar assurances given on earlier occasions were not “genuinely respected”.Speaking to a select group of media in Colombo last evening Holmes also said according to UN estimates there were at least another 50,000 civilians

Assurance not respected in the past- Holmes

still strapped in the so called ‘No-Fire zone’ although the government feels its much less than that.

“Iv seen the statement which the government made (on suspending the ise of heavy weapons). It’s a welcome statement. What we must see is it actually implemented on the ground. I hope the idea of not using heavy weapons will be genuinely respected this time which I’m afraid has not been in the past,” Holmes said while reiterating the need for a humanitarian pause.

Earlier in the day Holmes, who visited the camps in Vavuniya for the displaced people, met President Mahinda Rajapaksa and discussed humanitarian aid and access for the people in the camps as well as those still trapped in the No Fire Zone. “Its no more a No-Fire Zone,” the top UN official further noted.

Homes said that with the appointment of Major General G.A Chandrasiri there is an improvement in setting up shelters and the distribution of food and water. “Its clear from the Menik farm that I was in the situation is beginning to stabilize,” he said adding however that meeting the needs of the displaced people is still a “huge challenge” for the government and aid agencies.

Holmes yesterday pledged a further 10 Million US Dollars from the UN fund as aid for the displaced people apart from the 10 Million already pledged earlier.

UNICEF announced earlier in the day that 50 metric tonnes of airlifted emergency relief supplies landed in Colombo yesterday. The supplies will immediately be sent to the north to meet some of the most urgent needs of more than 100,000 people who have fled fierce fighting over the past week.

Homes said that supplies have not reached the people still trapped in the No-Fire Zone for several weeks with even the ICRC unable to distribute supplies owing to the fighting.

The UN official, who had met the opposition UNP as well as other government officials during his visit, said he hopes the fighting will come to a permanent end very soon.

Asked about UN staff being prevented from leaving the displacement camps in Vavuniya by the government, Homes said he discussed the issue with the President and other government officials and was given an assurance that they will be released in due course.
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