Government open to “humanitarian pause” to help civilians
The overture comes after an informal meeting by the United Nations Security Council last Friday in which the United States accused Sri Lanka of not living up to its pledge to respect a no-fire-zone as well as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for keeping civilians hostage in the danger area, thus using them as human shields.
The decision to suspend military action also comes after repeated appeals made by the international community, and especially Christians and civil society groups on the island.
For months Catholic and Anglican bishops as well as civil rights activists and representatives of the International Red Cross had denounced the desperate conditions in which some 150-200,000 refugees were living, trapped by the fighting.
In making his announcement Rambukwella noted that the Sri Lankan government and President Mahinda Rajapaksa had already indicated their support for a 48-hour truce but were unable to implement it because of the failure by Tamil rebels to stop their military operations.
The Defence Ministry spokesperson also said that to avoid harming civilians the Sri Lankan armed forces had suspended air attacks and the use of heavy artillery, adding however that this had made troops more vulnerable to attacks by the LTTE which “is using this to its advantage by taking on the security forces while hiding behind the cover of civilians.”
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21/04/2009
