Sri Lanka's government yesterday pledged to adhere to a truce with the Tamil Tiger rebels, despite failed efforts to revive peace talks to end the island nation's two decade-long civil war.
The vow came a day after the guerrillas rejected the government's latest proposal to resume long-stalled peace talks, saying it does not address their key demand for self-rule.
The rebels' move had been widely expected. Distrust and dislike on both sides have blocked international efforts to persuade the rebels and government to return to the negotiating table.
Yesterday, the government said it had yet to receive the rebels' formal rejection of the proposal, which was made earlier this week.
"But let me reiterate that we will honor the truce and will do nothing to endanger it," said Harim Peiris, the spokesman for President Chandrika Kumaratunga.
The rebels and the government signed a Norwegian-brokered truce in February 2002, which has held despite the collapse of peace talks in April 2003.
The insurgents launched their violent campaign for a separate state for Sri Lanka's minority Tamils in 1983. More than 65,000 people were killed in the fighting.
In its latest bid to revive peace talks, the government said it wanted formal commitments from the rebels to honor Sri Lanka's sovereignty and integrity, and a time frame for a final settlement. In return, the government will consider the rebels' self-rule proposal.
The insurgents, however, insist that talks be solely based on their demands for autonomy in the north and east of the island nation, where most of Sri Lanka's Tamil minority live.
The rebels want control over their own administration, police and legal system, unrestricted access to the sea, and the right to collect taxes and receive direct foreign aid.
KINGPIN: Marset allegedly laundered the proceeds of his drug enterprise by purchasing and sponsoring professional soccer teams and even put himself in the starting lineups Notorious Latin American narco trafficker Sebastian Marset, who eluded police for years, was handed over to US authorities after his arrest on Friday in Bolivia. Marset, a Uruguayan national who was on the US most-wanted list, was passed to agents of the US Drug Enforcement Administration at Santa Cruz airport in Bolivia, then put on a US airplane, Bolivian state television showed. “The arrest and deportation were carried out pursuant to a court order issued by the US justice system,” Bolivian Minister of Government Marco Antonio Oviedo told reporters. The alleged kingpin was arrested in an upscale neighborhood of Santa
FAKE NEWS? ‘When the government demands the press become a state mouthpiece under the threat of punishment, something has gone very wrong,’ a civic group said The top US broadcast regulator on Saturday threatened media outlets over negative coverage of the Middle East war, after US President Donald Trump slammed critical headlines from the “Fake News Media.” The US president since his first term has derided mainstream media as “fake news” and has sued major outlets over what he sees as unfair coverage. Brendan Carr, head of the US Federal Communications Commission — which oversees the nation’s radio, television and Internet media — said broadcasters risked losing their licenses over news coverage. “The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will
SCANDAL: Other images discovered earlier show Andrew bent over a female and lying across the laps of a number of women, while Mandelson is pictured in his underpants A photograph of former British prince Andrew and veteran politician Peter Mandelson sitting in bathrobes alongside late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was unearthed on Friday in previously published documents. The image is believed to be the first known photograph of the two men with Epstein. They are currently engulfed in scandal in the UK over their ties to their mutual friend. The undated photograph, first reported by ITV News, shows King Charles III’s disgraced brother and former British ambassador to the US sitting barefoot outside on a wooden deck. They appear to have mugs with a US flag on them
NASA on Thursday said that the long-delayed launch of Artemis 2, the first crewed flyby mission to the moon in more than 50 years, could come as soon as April 1. “We are on track for a launch as early as April 1, and we are working toward that date,” Lori Glaze, a senior NASA official, told a news conference, after technical difficulties delayed a launch originally expected last month. “It’s a test flight, and it is not without risk, but our team and our hardware are ready,” she said. “Just keep in mind we still have work” to do. The US space
RSS