LTTE has continuously and grievously violated CFA - Govt tells UN HR Chief

The Government yesterday informed the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, that the decision to end the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was taken after careful and serious consideration, the Disaster Management and Human Rights Ministry said.

It said the decision was taken after considering effective measures required to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka in the backdrop of terrorist activities perpetrated by the LTTE aiming to establish a mono-ethnic, mono-political separate State in the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka.

The Ministry said a consideration of the conduct of the LTTE during the period commencing February 2002 (when the CFA came into operation) reveals clearly that the terrorist organisation had not entered into the CFA in good faith and that it was not interested in resolving the problems of the Tamils through peaceful dialogue and acceptable political means.

Its unwavering intention of establishing a separate State became even more evident in 2004 when the LTTE leadership went back on its post 2002 February intention of seeking a solution to the ethnic conflict within the framework of a Constitutional solution wherein the people of the Northern and Eastern Provinces could enjoy the benefits of extensive power sharing.

The LTTE’s withdrawal from this declared intention clearly reveals the continued objective of the LTTE to create a separate sovereign State. With that intention, the LTTE has continuously and grievously violated the CFA, causing loss and damage to civilians and endangering the security of the State.

Several attempts by the Government to motivate the LTTE to change its mind and to take part in meaningful and peaceful political negotiations, turned futile. Furthermore, credible evidence has surfaced that the LTTE is readying to launch a major terrorist offensive against the State and its people.

Thus, the Government had no other option than to end the CFA through the procedure stipulated in the agreement itself and take meaningful measures to eliminate terrorism.

This step was taken by the Government in the exercise of its sovereign rights, for the protection of the State and its people including ethnic minorities.

The Government remains conscious of the need to resolve the country’s ethnic conflict through political and constitutional means. With that in mind, the Government is awaiting the proposals of the All Party Representatives Committee (APRC) appointed to propose constitutional means by which the ethnic conflict could be resolved.

These proposals are likely to be received by the Government in the very near future.

Military measures the Government would implement to eliminate terrorism would remain independent of steps the Government would take to implement through Constitutional means a solution to the ethnic conflict, so that all people of Sri Lanka would through their democratically elected representatives enjoy devolved power within the framework of the sovereign Sri Lankan State.

The Government wishes to inform the UN High Commissioner that, as a responsible State in the global community, the Government is committed to the enforcement of military and other lawful measures to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka and to eliminate terrorism, in accordance with the laws of Sri Lanka and in compliance with international norms and standards including International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law.

As in the past, even at the cost of delay in the implementation and successful completion of military operations, the Government will take all necessary and meaningful measures to avoid civilian casualties and hardships to civilian populations, some of whom remain kept against their will by the LTTE as human shields.

An example for this policy would be seen in the preemptive military operation the Government was compelled to take in 2007, to liberate parts of the Eastern Province and its people from the unlawful control of the LTTE.

The Government would also continue to uninterruptedly supply humanitarian aid and food supplies to areas being unlawfully held by the LTTE, knowing well that a considerable portion of such supplies would be consumed by fighting cadres of the LTTE.

The Government wishes to assure the UN High Commissioner that it remains a State policy not to tolerate any forms of Human Rights or Humanitarian Law violations by members of the Security Forces and the Police.

The command, rank and file of the Security Forces and the police have been regularly briefed through State sponsored awareness campaigns of the need to adhere to laws of Sri Lanka and applicable international legal norms. Including, subordinate members of the Security Forces are aware that they are obliged to only carry out lawful orders given by superiors.

Superior officers of the Security Forces are well aware of legal principles relating to command responsibility. All members of the Security Forces and the Police are quite aware that certain violations of the law attract individual criminal responsibility.”