The LTTE has resorted to one its old tricks yesterday (July 21) to mark the forthcoming SAARC summit in Colombo. The "Peace Secretariat" of the terrorists has declared a "unilateral ceasefire" to put the Sri Lanka and the rest of SAARC countries off guard during the conference period. The Tigers declared a similar bogus ceasefire during the Chandrika Bandaranaike regime in 2001.
Of course the local NGO peaceniks and their foreign sponsors will now urge the government to go for talks, telling the world that this is the best and last chance for peace. But only fools would take seriously these so-called cease fires seriously. Will the Tigers who violated an umpteen number of times the bilateral ceasefire signed in 2002 honour a unilateral ceasefire?
The purpose of this bogus unilateral ceasefire is two fold. One is a desperate attempt to show the SAARC nations that the LTTE is genuinely committed to peace and see whether it is possible to make them pressure GOSL to go for the usual farcical exercise called 'negotiations.' The other is to make the Sri Lankan Government relax its vigilance so that the Tigers can use the opportunity to get some breathing space after the severe beating they have received from the Security Forces. They can then launch a surprise attack at a civilian or military target at the opportune moment as soon as the SAARC summit is over.
The so-called Peace Secretariat of the the LTTE states:
"We are always keen to develop friendship with the countries of the world and our neighbouring countries in our region. We are sincere in our efforts to create the external conditions in order to build these friendships. We wish to express the good will and trust of the Tamil people. As a sign of this goodwill, our movement is glad to inform that it will observe a unilateral ceasefire that is devoid of military actions during the period of the SAARC conference from 26th July to 4th August and give our cooperation for the success of the conference."
Of course the local NGO peaceniks and their foreign sponsors will now urge the government to go for talks, telling the world that this is the best and last chance for peace. But only fools would take seriously these so-called cease fires seriously. Will the Tigers who violated an umpteen number of times the bilateral ceasefire signed in 2002 honour a unilateral ceasefire?
The purpose of this bogus unilateral ceasefire is two fold. One is a desperate attempt to show the SAARC nations that the LTTE is genuinely committed to peace and see whether it is possible to make them pressure GOSL to go for the usual farcical exercise called 'negotiations.' The other is to make the Sri Lankan Government relax its vigilance so that the Tigers can use the opportunity to get some breathing space after the severe beating they have received from the Security Forces. They can then launch a surprise attack at a civilian or military target at the opportune moment as soon as the SAARC summit is over.
The so-called Peace Secretariat of the the LTTE states:
"We are always keen to develop friendship with the countries of the world and our neighbouring countries in our region. We are sincere in our efforts to create the external conditions in order to build these friendships. We wish to express the good will and trust of the Tamil people. As a sign of this goodwill, our movement is glad to inform that it will observe a unilateral ceasefire that is devoid of military actions during the period of the SAARC conference from 26th July to 4th August and give our cooperation for the success of the conference."
