[AFP]

Sri Lanka’s military on has demanded the complete surrender of the Tamil Tigers, rejecting rebel calls for an immediate ceasefire. Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said the Government could not accept a conditional truce from the cornered Tamil Tigers and insisted that the guerrillas should unconditionally lay down arms first. Earlier, the rebels announced in a statement they were ready to comply with international calls for a ceasefire but said they would not lay down their arms.

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[AFP]

Sri Lanka’s government Wednesday rejected fresh calls for a truce with Tamil Tiger rebels as security forces took another village previously held by the cornered guerrillas. Defense spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said the government was firmly committed to wiping out “terrorism” and described the demand for a ceasefire from a Tamil Tiger proxy as “laughable.” “We have taken a policy decision to completely root out terrorism,” Rambukwella told reporters here. “There will be no ceasefire with the LTTE ( Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam).”

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[Guardian]

Sri Lanka snubbed the international community’s call for a ceasefire today, saying troops would not suspend their offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels despite reports of a growing civilian death toll. The government said it would offer a limited amnesty to rebel forces that were ready to lay down their arms as they were on the brink of defeat in their 25-year-old struggle for a Tamil homeland. But ministers refused to hold peace talks, saying they would accept nothing less than total surrender.

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