Jeremy Page, South Asia Correspondent
The Times and Sunday Times for less
Britain, France and Sweden are to begin a joint diplomatic offensive this week to press Sri Lanka to call a ceasefire with the Tamil Tiger rebels and allow international aid to reach civilians on the frontline.
David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, and his French and Swedish counterparts will head to Sri Lanka on Wednesday to urge the Government to allow greater access to an estimated 50,000 people trapped inside the no-fire zone – and about 170,000 refugees outside it.
Downing Street announced the plans today after Sri Lanka’s Government rejected a unilateral ceasefire declared by the Tamil Tigers as a “joke”, saying that the army was on the verge of victory in the 26-year civil war.
The announcement came as John Holmes, the UN humanitarian chief, met top Sri Lankan officials to ask them to allow aid agencies into the no-fire zone.
The army claims that it has rescued more than 170,000 civilians, but the UN says there are still 50,000 inside, and the refugee camps are already severely overcrowded.
Tomorrow, Mr Holmes is due to visit the camps where the civilians are being screened to make sure they are not rebels – a process the UN wants to observe to ensure it meets international humanitarian standards.
Mike Foster, Britain’s junior international development minister, is also due to hold talks with government officials and to visit the camps when he arrives in Sri Lanka tomorrow morning.
“We’ve been calling for a ceasefire from both sides for some time: our line on that has not changed,” Mr Foster told The Times before he left Britain.
“We also have a clear idea of what we need to see being done in the camps to improve the conditions of people there.”
He said that Britain was donating 5,000 tents – worth £500,000 – to UNHCR, the refugee agency, to help shelter 20,000 to 30,000 civilians.
The Sri Lankan Government has refused to allow aid agencies to enter the no-fire zone, or to help the refugees outside the camps, saying it fears that they will help the Tigers to regroup and re-arm.
It has also banned most independent reporters from visiting the frontline, and has refused The Times a journalist's visa to Sri Lanka since August.
The Tigers, who are thought to be down to their last 200 or so core fighters, plus a few hundreds recent recruits, urged the international community today to back their unilateral ceasefire.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the Defense Secretary, rejected the appeal.
"That is a joke," said Mr Rajapaksa, who is the brother of the President, Mahinda Rajapaksa.
"They were not fighting with us, they were running from us. There is no need of a ceasefire. They must surrender. That is it."
The army added that 23 more rebels gave themselves up today, following the surrender of two last week, including their main international spokesman.
President Rajapaksa was given another boost today when his ruling coalition won a sweeping victory in a local election that was seen as a referendum on its fight against the rebels.
The governing United People's Freedom Alliance coalition was declared the overwhelming winner in the latest poll, sweeping nearly two-thirds of the vote in Western Province.
The coalition even won in the capital, Colombo, long a stronghold of the opposition United National Party, which advocated talks with the rebels.
The governing coalition now controls all eight of the country's provincial councils.
“The electorate ... clearly responded to the call of the President for a united Sri Lanka,” Anura Yapa, the Media Minister, said.
Win a luxury weekend to Newcastle and its neighbour Gateshead, find out more here
Risk, resilience and embracing new technology
Industry sectors news at a glance. Interactive heatmap, video and podcast
Discover the collective power of smart thinking. Submit a solution and be in with a chance to win a £500 Selfridges voucher
The inside track on current trends in the charity, not for profit and social enterprise sectors
Everything the Business Traveller needs to know to make a better trip
Enjoy further reading from Travel to Fashion, Business to Sport, discover more
Shortcuts to help you find sections and articles
2006
21,950
2005
39,950
£POA
Car Insurance
£150 k
Mark Spiers and Associates
UK
Attractive salary
Waitrose
London,South East & Southern England
£63,000 + benefits
Environment Agency
Wales
£80,000+Bonus
YMCA
East London
Completely London
Luxury Condo's in Manhattan with NYC views
World Cup Investment Opp - 2 bed gated apartment
Aspirational Homes from an Inspirational Company
From 6 Major UK Airports
From £585pp
Experience Zambia from £1,725pp
with Africa Travel
S/c accomm in beautiful mainland Greece.
Great offers for May and June
Great travel insurance deals online
.
Contact our advertising team for advertising and sponsorship in Times Online, The Times and The Sunday Times, or place your advertisement.
Times Online Services: Dating | Jobs | Property Search | Used Cars | Holidays | Births, Marriages, Deaths | Subscriptions | E-paper
News International associated websites: Globrix Property Search | Property Finder | Milkround
Copyright 2009 Times Newspapers Ltd.
This service is provided on Times Newspapers' standard Terms and Conditions. Please read our Privacy Policy.To inquire about a licence to reproduce material from Times Online, The Times or The Sunday Times, click here.This website is published by a member of the News International Group. News International Limited, 1 Virginia St, London E98 1XY, is the holding company for the News International group and is registered in England No 81701. VAT number GB 243 8054 69.
nimal Ranwala, tamils' homeland is sri lanka. they do not need to re-establish anywhere. Education is lacking in the sl government. In this day and age, what a stupid bunch.
SL government is the key terrorist organisation in the world!
Suje, London,
Terror supporters should be ASHAMED of their part in this genocide drama.
Nisa, London, UK
God only knows how many of those children would live to see another day!
If the LTTE is not fighting, then whats the reason for the GOSL to fight for?
UN and IC failed miserably by giving a free hand to the criminals to eliminate a section of population for the reason of their ethnicity.
Veerappan, London,
Only solution for tamils is a negociated solution with LTTE. If Not , as LTTE can never be eliminated as it reflects the people's pain and thirst for freedom , it will always find a way to exist, which the gvt knows , and will use it to harras and destroy tamils more and more...
tharis, London, UK
Britain gained control of Ceylon now refered as Sri lanka in the1790s and left the country in 1948 leaving us with an independant right and handed over to the singhalese people who have a bigger population than the Tamils.Leaving us with no choice for our home land.So therefore needs to do something
Sujay, northolt, UK
To All three FM's,
Please grant asylum/refugee visas in your countries for all Tamils in Sri Lanka as soon as possible. So all peace loving Sri Lankans will not have to suffer from your carefully engineered wars in Sri Lanka. All we need is all Tamils to UK/EU passports. So, Homeland achived in EU
nimal Ranwala, Kandy, Sri Lanka
The UK must lead the world to free the Tamils from the Singhalese tyranical leaders & LTTE. UK, legitimately irrefutable right to intervene to end the conflict as China, Iran, Pakistan have puzzling bonds in Lanka that can affect the security of the region & the world.
R. Johnpillai, London, UK
I think International community missed a golden opportunity to win the trust of Sinhalese majority for a broader autonomy for Tamils. Now everybody is suspicious of foreign involvement after frenetic efforts by IC to save LTTE leadership.Without majority consent no solution is possible.
Anthony, New York, USA
http://www.thesundayleader.lk/20080203/HOME.HTM
Everything about the state terrors is in the above...
Stacy, UK,