[BBC]

Sri Lanka’s defence secretary has rejected the Tamil Tigers’ offer to enter a democratic process after their military defeat by government forces. In an interview with the BBC, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said the LTTE rebels could not be trusted to give up “terrorism”. “I do not believe the LTTE can enter a democratic process after years of their violent activities,” Mr Rajapaksa said. The rebels had said they would give up violence after their leader was killed in recent fighting in the north-east. “I am not interested in LTTE at all,” the defence secretary - the most senior civilian official in charge of the war against the Tamil Tigers - told the BBC in a wide-ranging telephone interview. He said there were “enough democratic Tamil political parties in the country” to represent the Tamil minority.

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[BBC]

Sri Lanka has rejected a fresh appeal by the UN to give civilians more time to leave a safe zone in the north-east, the defence secretary says. Only a few hundred civilians used the two-day unilateral government truce with Tamil Tiger rebels to escape. Between 50,000 and 100,000 civilians are still thought to be trapped in the zone - about 20 sq km (8 sq miles) of coastal area in Mullaitivu district.

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[AFP]

Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse said that there would be “dire consequences” for any foreign non-governmental organisation, diplomat or correspondent attempting to give “terrorists a second breath of life.” Berlin made it clear on Sunday that it was unimpressed by “threats” from Sri Lanka’s top defence official to expel Germany’s ambassador and other foreigners seen as supportive of Tamil rebels. “Possible misunderstandings should be resolved through dialogue, not through threats,” a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry in Berlin said.

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