[AP]

Sri Lanka warned Western diplomats, foreign journalists and aid groups Sunday that they would be “chased” out of the country if they appear to favor the Tamil Tiger rebels. Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa singled out the ambassadors of Switzerland and Germany, and television networks CNN, BBC and Al-Jazeera in his criticism of foreigners, accusing them of being biased. Rajapaksa said certain foreign media reports were damaging the security forces at a time they were “dealing the final death blow” to the Tigers.

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[DPA]

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called Thursday, Jan. 22, for humanitarian assistance to be delivered to civilians cut off by government and rebel clashes in the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Steinmeier expressed concern for more than 300,000 refugees on a coastal 30-kilometer strip of land, in the area held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebel group. “They have been completely cut off from international aid for more than 10 days,” the German foreign minister said. “The most important thing now is to negotiate a ceasefire, to enable aid deliveries and medical care for the civilians in the disputed areas,” he added.

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