Sri Lanka peace monitors slam both rebels and gov't

COLOMBO, Jan. 13 Kyodo

Scandinavian cease-fire monitors on Friday slammed both Sri Lanka's government and its ethnic Tamil rebels for the rapidly deteriorating security situation in the country's northeast, saying both sides risk ''going back to war.''

''Over 100 people were killed last month, half of whom were civilians,'' the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission observing the 2002 Cease-Fire Agreement said in a statement.

''It is our assessment that if the parties don't react immediately, they risk going back to war.''

Diplomats in Colombo said that the SLMM statement, issued the day after a landmine set by rebels of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam killed nine back-from-leave soldiers in a bus in the northern Vavuniya district, was one of the strongest ever.

The Nordic-staffed SLMM rejected the LTTE's claim that repeated attacks on government security forces, which have cost the lives of over 50 soldiers and sailors since December, were carried out by ''the people'' and not by the rebels.

''SLMM finds this explanation unacceptable. It is safe to say the LTTE involvement cannot be ruled out and we find the LTTE's indifference to these attacks worrying,'' the statement said.

The government was not exculpated by the cease-fire monitors, who said that a major reason for the present deterioration of the truce was the activity of paramilitary forces in government-held areas.

''It is important to emphasize that the current situation also stems from the fact that alternative armed elements have been able to operate freely in the east in government-controlled areas,'' the statement said.

''These forces have destabilized the cease-fire and are the major reasons for increased tension between the parties.''

In this context, SLMM urged the government ''to face up to its responsibilities and disarm these other armed groups so that the rule of law can be reinstated in the affected areas.''

Military headquarters in Colombo said that a busload of soldiers narrowly escaped a landmine blast in Eastern Trincomalee when their vehicle did not take the full impact of the explosion.

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