COLOMBO, March 2: The Sri Lankan government has once again snubbed India, rejecting its appeals to halt hostilities against the Tamil Tiger rebels but has assured of a ceasefire if the guerillas lay down arms unconditionally. India has been agitating for a cessation of hostilities against the LTTE for about a year and the latest such call came on Sunday.

Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in a statement issued in New Delhi on Sunday that Sri Lanka should seize the opportunity of an LTTE ceasefire offer to bring about a halt to hostilities in the northeast. The rebels although ousted from their key northeastern bases and cornered into jungle territory in northern Mullaittivu have so far not volunteered to lay down weapons.

A Sri Lankan Defence Ministry spokesman, Keheliye Rambukwelle, when contacted, said that the Tiger separatists should display any willingness for a ceasefire by laying down arms. However, reacting to India’s concern for the safety of civilians in the northeast of Sri Lanka, Mr Rambukwella said all steps had been taken by the security forces to ensure that civilians were provided safe passage from conflict areas and were provided food and shelter.

Estimates vary of the number of civilians trapped in conflict areas, from 70,000, according to the government, to around 200,000 according to UN estimates. But, according to some reports, there are as many as 300,000 or more refugees still trapped in an area where heavy fighting between the rebels and the military is reported to be taking place.

According to humanitarian organisations there is a scarcity of food, medical supplies, clean water, sanitation facilities and shelter with increasing risk of hunger and disease.

The Sri Lankan government has denied food scarcity in the north and stated that it has dispatched adequate quantities of dry rations and other necessities to civilians in the battle zone. According to the Minister of Resettlement, Rishath Bathiyutheen, 90 tons of food had been sent by sea to Mullaittivu. Independent verification of the humanitarian situation in the north is not possible as journalists are barred from travelling to conflict areas.
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