Sri Lanka's ceasefire threatened by presidential poll

By Anthony David

Colombo (dpa) - Plans to review and strengthen the ceasefire agreement between the government and Tamil rebels in Sri Lanka under a Norwegian-backed peace process are due for further setbacks as the country shifts its attention to the upcoming presidential election.

The Sri Lankan government called on Norway to arrange a meeting with the Tamil rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to review the ceasefire after the country's Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar was assassinated by suspected Tamil rebels on August 12.

Two weeks after the call for the review meeting, both the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE had failed to agree on a venue for the talks. President Chandrika Kumaratunga proposed Colombo as the venue and the rebels suggested Oslo.

As the dispute over the venue of the talks continued, the Supreme Court last Friday ruled that the country's next presidential election should be held this year, dismissing the government's arguments that Kumaratunga had one more year in office.

Sri Lanka's main political parties have turned their attention on the presidential election campaign, with the election set to be held in November. The commissioner of elections is due to officially announce the date for the poll within the next few days.

Following Kadirgamar's assassination, Kumaratunga introduced a state of emergency in the country, leading to a series of arrests of minority Tamils and special security checks on the Tamils living in the capital and those traveling from rebel-held areas to government controlled areas.

The government has argued that the state of emergency was required to carry out search operations and arrests of suspects following the minister's assassination, but Tamil rebels believe that it represents a threat to the truce.

''The government of Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga has brought the whole island under a state of emergency at a time when there is an environment of relative peace. A state of emergency and a ceasefire agreement (CFA) are two situations that cannot prevail concurrently. Proclamation of emergency therefore, has placed the CFA in grave risk,'' the LTTE's official newspaper, Viduthalaippuligal, said.

''If the state of emergency is to continue for long, something that is not unusual in Sri Lanka, one foresees a tragic situation in which even direct talks may not be of any use. It is therefore the yearning of all peace-loving people that emergency should be lifted, and lifted immediately,'' the newspaper said.

Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party (UNP), led by opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is running for president, has called for the strengthening of the truce.

Wickremesinghe was responsible for signing the ceasefire with the LTTE in February 2002 when he was the country's prime minister.

The truce, which has been the longest lasting ceasefire between the government and the LTTE since the ethnic war broke out between two sides 21 years ago, has helped the economy and provided opportunity for free movement of people during the past three and half years.

Scandinavian monitors are helping to maintain the fragile ceasefire, which has been deteriorating over the past few months with the violations of the truce on the increase.

Tamil rebels have been the main offenders, with a total of 3,006 violations against them while 133 violations had been committed by the government security forces.

Despite the violations, a majority of Sri Lankans favour the truce. But a failure of the government to support the truce could endanger the peace process, which is aimed at finding a political settlement to the conflict which has already claimed more than 69,000 lives. dpa ad jh