Mediator tones down Lankan peace hopes
Colombo extends state of emergency, 4 killed in mine blast
Afp, reuters, Oslo/ Colombo
Four people were killed and 40 wounded in bomb attacks in Sri Lanka yesterday as Colombo vowed "every endeavour" to revive peace moves, while a top Norwegian envoy played down hopes of a breakthrough. Sri Lanka peace mediator Erik Solheim yesterday played down hopes that his visit to the conflict-ridden island next week would lead to a resumption of peace talks between the Colombo government and the Tamil rebels. "It's very important to play down the expectations," Solheim, who is Norway's development aid minister, told reporters ahead of his January 23-26 visit when he will meet with representatives of the two sides. "What could hopefully be achieved through this visit is some kind of understanding between the parties on how they would stabilize the ceasefire and reduce the far too high number of ceasefire violations that we're seeing at the moment," he added. More than 60,000 people have been killed in Sri Lanka's three-decade-long Tamil separatist campaign led by the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Despite a ceasefire reached in February 2002, more than 136 people have been killed since violence flared in early December. In a latest attack suspected Tamil Tiger rebels set off a powerful landmine in eastern Sri Lanka yesterday, killing at least four people and wounding 20, the military said. A bomb attached to a bicycle went off as an army truck passed in the town of Batticaloa, a local military commander told AFP when contacted by telephone. He said three policeman and a civilian were killed in the explosion while seven soldiers, 13 policemen and three bystanders were wounded. Three bomb attacks yesterday that wounded at least 27 people shattered a brief lull in violence in Sri Lanka's embattled northeastern regions, military officials said. Solheim's comments came after the Colombo government said it hoped he would be able to "break the ice" and lead the two parties to the negotiating table. The peace talks have been stalled since April 2003. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka extended a countrywide state of emergency yesterday as suspected Tamil Tiger rebels kept up sporadic attacks against the military ahead of a last-ditch peace effort despite protests by minority Tamil legislators. The parliament was in session for just five minutes and unanimously approved the tough laws that allow security forces and police to arrest and detain suspects for long periods, parliamentary officials said.
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