The LTTE leader Prabhakaran surrounded by his last loyal commanders, like Pottuamman , Susev, and son Charles Anthony, described as running rather than fighting and cornered by the Sri Lankan security forces declared an unilateral ceasefire but Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa rejected it calling it a joke.
When President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared a pause in the offences of the security forces to facilitate the civilians to escape , only two weeks ago , on the Sinhalese and Tamil New Year , the LTTE also rejected it and worked overtime to prevent civilians from leaving his last foothold.
Thereafter the security forces demolished a mud wall that prevented the civilians from escaping and amidst showers of bullets unleashed by the LTTE gumen and explosions of three Tiger suicide bombers more than one hundred thousand civilians escaped. 17 civilians died on the spot and more than 260 civilians who were badly injured in the suicide attacks were airlifted to hospitals.
Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa dismissed the statement as “a joke” and suggested that only complete surrender would be accetable.
He told a news agency, “There is no need of a ceasefire. They must surrender. That is it.”
The statement of the Tamil Tigers said, “In the face of an unprecedented humanitarian crisis and in response to the calls made by the UN, EU, the governments of the USA, India and others, the LTTE has announced a unilateral ceasefire.”
The statement added it would take effect immediately.
The Sri Lanka government has reiterated that the LTTE should giveup all their arms and surrender to the government .
Meanwhile the Humanitarian Chief of the United Nations Sir John Holmes was quoted having said, “I call on the LTTE with all the urgency I can to let out the remaining civilian population and lay down their arms; and on the government to exercise maximum restraint including no use of heavy weapons.”
“We need a new humanitarian pause to get aid and aid workers into the combat zone. We must have access to all IDPs (Internally Displaced People) wherever they are, including in the conflict zone, and the screening process must also be made more transparent.”
But some UN demands that would affect the security situation on the ground have been rejected by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
By Walter Jayawardhana