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| Sunday, 21 August 2005 |
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Politics |  |
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War, not an option by Thava Sajitharan The looming fear of another war after the assassination of the Foreign Minister has been brought to an end by the Government. Government's Spokesperson Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva last week re-affirmed that war was not among their options. "We will not resort to war", said the Minister at the last Cabinet briefing. Nonetheless, he vehemently raised his voice against the LTTE for perpetrating the late FM's murder. "We will not let the brutal activities of the LTTE to hinder the acts of the Government", he added. He also called on the international community to "exert pressure" on the LTTE to 'refrain from creating conditions for war'. However he was optimistic enough to express hope that the "situation would improve". Minister Silva disclosed at the briefing that President Kumaratunga had sought to review the Cease Fire Agreement in order to analyse its lapses and rectify them. She had asked the Norwegian Foreign Minister to inform the LTTE of the decision. The LTTE is yet to respond to the call. The LTTE, on their part kept on insisting that the stipulations of the Agreement should be strictly adhered to. Yet the organisation never admitted the charges levelled against them in connection with the violations of the CFA. Neither has it admitted its involvement in the killing of the Foreign Minister. Meanwhile, Tamilnet website quoted the LTTE's political leader S. P. Thamilchelvam as saying that "war is not an option" for them either. He was reported to have said "abiding by an ongoing truce was the only way to resurrect a stalled peace process". "The most simple way to get the peace process back on track is by sincerely and effectively giving implementation status to the CFA," Tamilnet reported. |
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