[BBC]

The Sri Lankan government has rejected fresh calls for a temporary ceasefire with Tamil Tiger rebels. Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama told the BBC that if the rebels laid down their arms there would be no need for a halt in the fighting. Reports of growing civilian casualties have prompted the UN, European Union and India to urge a ceasefire. In a briefing to the UN Security Council a few days ago, its humanitarian chief, Sir John Holmes, said the restrictions on the movement of civilians into and out of the camps were unacceptable.

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[Toronto Star]

Where is Mohideen? His wife Fatima wonders this every day as she wakes at 5 a.m. to say her morning prayers and get her two sons ready for school. Since November, Fatima, who lives in a corrugated tin-roof home in one of the Sri Lankan capital’s Tamil neighbourhoods, has been praying to Allah for her husband’s safe return. At 5:30 a.m. on Nov. 11, four men wielding guns and flashing badges barged into Fatima’s home, demanding Mohideen accompany them to the police station for two hours to be questioned.

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[ AFP ]

The government is “deeply concerned” by the ongoing unrest in northeast Sri Lanka, where Sri Lanka troops and Tamil rebels are locked in a fierce conflict, Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said. “Recent developments underline the urgent need for progress toward a meaningful and durable political solution,” said Cannon. After months of intense battles, government security forces have cornered the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels, and according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) a major humanitarian crisis is unfolding. Some 250,000 people are trapped and hundreds have been reported killed, said the ICRC.

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[AFP]

EU officials told Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama of their concern at the “humanitarian crisis” in the north of the country, especially “the rising civilian casualties in the conflict zone.” EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner underlined that “international standards must be respected” and that unrestricted access be provided for the UN and humanitarian agencies, the EU Commission said in a statement. She said the Sri Lankan government should “now give priority to outlining and implementing an ambitious and sustainable political solution which can put Sri Lanka on the path towards peace and reconciliation between communities.”

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