In an unprecedented move, Tamil Tiger rebels on Thursday have announced their intentions to strictly follow a Norway-brokered ceasefire that the Sri Lankan government withdrew from last week. Serious violence has erupted since the collapse of the 2002 ceasefire although both the parties never respected the terms of it during these five years. The government has pledged to end the Tamil rebellion by this year which over the past few weeks have cost the lives of civilians, rebels, soldiers and high-profile Sri Lankan politicians and ministers.
By announcing this ceasefire, do the rebels want a long-awaited negotiation and peace? It is tough to predict at the moment but the losses the LTTE have suffered over this past week at the hands of the government soldiers might have prompted the rebel leadership to buy some time to regroup and recuperate. By stressing on the fact that Norway should continue as facilitators, the LTTE is looking to regain some international sympathy for their cause. But military analysts say that the call for ceasefire is more to do on battlefield losses rather than diplomatic. In the recent fighting the Sri Lankan forces have killed 200 rebels, including some top LTTE operations leaders. Intelligence sources have suggested(although the report is yet to be verified officially)that the rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran might have been injured in the Sri Lankan army onslaught.
Many analysts think that the move to call for a ceasefire is a way to put Colombo under pressure to reciprocate in a similar fashion. Mahindra Rajapakse’s government was critised in the international community, particularly by the Indian Government, for withdrawing from the ceasefire but the LTTE sharp move would pressurise the government to stop military actions against the rebels and look for ways to usher in peace. Furthermore, the LTTE is being blamed for the killing of the pro-rebel former Sri Lankan MP T.Maheswaran last week which the former has denied and the ceasefire could be the way to force Colombo into launching an independent enquiry into the killing.
It remains to be seen whether the Sri Lankan government reciprocates the ceasefire offer and it looks that the international community would not want Colombo to miss the opportunity given the humanitarian crisis the civilians of the Tamil-dominated North is facing due to the war.
Image and Source Link: CNN
