Lanka rejects latest LTTE offer,calls it a joke

LTTE on Sunday announced a unilateral ceasefire in fighting in Sri Lanka’s north,but the government dismissed the offer calling it a “joke” and asked the rebels to surrender. The LTTE,confined to a 6 sq. km strip of land in the north,said it announced the ceasefire in the face of an “unprecedented humanitarian crisis” in the Wanni region and in response to the calls made by the UN,EU,US,India and other countries. “All of LTTE’s offensive military operations will cease with immediate effect. As the first step we have now announced this unilateral ceasefire and call upon the international community to pressure the Sri Lankan Government to reciprocate it,” it said in a statement.

However,the Government said it is not taking the truce offer by the LTTE seriously and termed it as a “joke”. “It is an attempt by the LTTE to deceive the world and get time for them to regroup. There is no meaning for a ceasefire at this time with a losing force like the LTTE. It is a joke,” Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said. His comments came as United Nations humaitarian chief John Holmes asked the government to halt its military offensive against the LTTE in order to allow aid workers to help civilians trapped in the ‘No Fire Zone’.