LTTE responsible for sufferings of Tamil civilians: US
Holding the Tamil Tigers responsible for the
"increasing sufferings" of civilians in Sri Lanka's embattled north, the
US on Friday (March 6) asked the outlawed LTTE to stop lobbying shells
and shooting guns out of the safe zone declared by the government, Zee
news reported.
Citing the US Assistant Secretary of State Richard
Boucher, the news report read The Secretary of State as calling on the
LTTE to stop the violence and allow the innocent Tamil civilians to flee
the shrinking war zone.
"Tigers have been shooting shells out of the safe
zone. We call upon the government not to shoot back, but first and
foremost the Tamil Tigers have to stop shooting.
"That is where we are asking to stop the violence, let
the people find safety, and then talk about how to end hostilities,"
said Boucher, who heads the South and Central Asian Affairs at the State
Department.
"The Tamil Tigers by trapping them (civilians), by
continuing the conflict are just increasing the sufferings of the Tamil
people. So it is very much time for them to allow safe passage for them
to allow these people to leave," Boucher said.
"We are glad to see that the government managing to
get some additional food supply to these areas this weekend," Boucher
said. But that could not be the case with the Tamil Tigers. "We have
seen the Tamil Tigers shelling out of that safe zone. We have seen them
continuing hostilities in other places. So we believe that it is time
for them to stop fighting and allow these people to go safely to other
parts of safe places," Boucher said.
It is only then there could be discussions on how to
end hostilities.
"Making political calls and statements, does not
really count when you are still lobbying shells and shooting guns. It is
time to stop shooting guns," Boucher said.
"I encourage the Tigers to stop fighting and be
willing to talk about how to end the hostilities," Boucher said in
response to a question.
Boucher said the United States has always "believed
that there needs to be opportunities for Tamils, there needs to be
respect for Tamils in Sri Lankan society, and there needs to be a
political arrangement to have a stable political governance situation in
the country.
"These are the goals, which the US is continuing to
press. But let's remember that respect for Tamils means that they should
not be trapped in zones of the conflict," he said.
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