|
Thousands of Tamils demand Sri Lankan troops withdraw from Jaffna Peninsula
Associated Press,
Fri February 14, 2003 02:40 EST .
JOE ARYARATNAM - Associated Press Writer - JAFFNA, Sri Lanka - (AP) Thousands rallied Friday in northern Sri Lanka - to demand the withdrawal of government troops after a fistfight between soldiers and Tamil rebels dealt a blow to a year-old truce. ``Sri Lanka - forces leave our homeland,'' read one poster. ``Sri Lanka - government don't provoke the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam,'' read another. The protest was sparked by an incident Wednesday, when four soldiers got into a fistfight with three Tamil rebels all women who refused to give up their military-style belts before entering a government-controlled area. The army has banned rebels from wearing the belts while inside territory it controls, saying they contravene the terms of the cease-fire because they identify the wearers as rebels and can hold small arms. The rebels' chief negotiator, Anton Balasingham, on Thursday called the clash an ``an intolerable provocation.'' He said: ``The peace talks with the Sri Lankan government will undoubtedly be seriously jeopardized if such incidents continue.'' The belts are part of the typical uniform of women fighting with the rebels. Friday's demonstration was organized by the International Student Association of Tamileelam, a group believed to be supported by the rebels. ``We are organizing this protest and demonstration to show our solidarity to the Tamil people,'' said S. Gajenran, president of the association. The Tamil Tigers started an insurrection in 1983 for a separate state for the country's 3.2 million Tamils, claiming discrimination by the Sinhalese majority. Nearly 65,000 people have been killed during the civil war, which was halted last February when the parties signed a cease-fire agreement. The warring parties have held five rounds of peace talks.
Published: Fri Feb 14 04:01:30 EST 2003
|
