Colombo: Sri Lanka will continue its military offensive with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and a ceasefire isn’t possible, the country’s President has said in response to demands by politicians in Tamil Nadu.
Mahinda Rajapaksa said the military offensive against the rebels in Kilinochchi would continue, announced the state-run Sri Lankan Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) on Thursday.
Rajapaksa has informed India that the offensive cannot be stopped as demanded by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, and other politicians of the state.
The LTTE leadership had sent suicide bombers to assassinate leaders of the Sri Lakan military, he said.
A Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry spokesperson had on Wednesday night said the offensive wouldn’t target civilians.
"We have put in a zero-civilian doctrine in place in the areas bordering the government-controlled and the LTTE-held areas in the north," said the spokesperson.
Civilian casualty had been minimal and the displaced persons were being provided relief on an emergency basis, the spokesperson said.
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The Sri Lakan military claims its forces have reached the outskirts of Kilinochchi and the city could fall any moment.
Kilinochchi is the nerve centre and administrative headquarters of the rebels and is of the two towns still being held by LTTE cadres in the Tamil-dominated North.
Rajapaksa made the statement after Karunannidhi and other Tamil politicians demanded a ceasefire and a political dialogue to sort out Sri Lankan Tamil issue.
The SLBC said Sri Lanka was a sovereign country and the military Wanni “operation cannot be stopped by politicians of Tamil Nadu”.
It charged that LTTE had launched a conspiracy against Sri Lankan government and its forces.
"Therefore the government requests Indian establishment not to be misled by the conspiracy and that Sri Lanka has taken every possible measure to provide relief for the displaced," the statement read out by SLBC said.
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