COLOMBO: Fears for the resumption of war between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government have mounted following declaration of the LTTE as the terrorist organization by the European Union.

The EU carried out the expected move despite threats by the LTTE to resume the war if the EU subjected the group to sanctions. In what is described as a direct retaliation to the ban, LTTE cadres on Monday morning stormed into a Sinhala village in the border of the eastern region, killing 13 Sinhalese workers who had settled in the area to work on an irrigation project, police said.

The killings took place in the village of Welikanda in Polonnaruwa, a Sinhala settlement. The men were first shot and then butchered, police confirmed. “We see the killing as a retaliation of the EU ban against the Sinhalese population and government,” a senior military official said.

The LTTE media spokesperson, Daya Master, while denying LTTE hand in the incident, asserted that the LTTE had not carried out the killings and charged that forces seeking to discredit Tigers were behind the massacre.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka began mourning for one of its most loved authors who was buried on Tuesday. Nihal de Silva was killed on Saturday in a land-mine explosion in one of the country’s dense national parks located in the north-eastern periphery.

De Silva, who won two national awards for his book ‘Road to Elephant Pass’ regarding the war, was among seven nature lovers who were killed instantly in a land-mine blast carried out by the LTTE.

In the escalating violence, the death toll has climbed to nearly 600.

Norway, which plays the role of peace facilitator, has also indicated that the EU ban will not hinder its role as a peace-maker. Norwegian embassy sources also said that despite LTTE claims of resuming the war following the EU ban, the Tigers have not formally pulled out of their agreement to attend talks with the government and the truce monitors on June 8 and 9.

The LTTE has agreed to meet the government as well as the Nordic truce monitors next month in Oslo but said the talks would have to be restricted mainly to discussing the safety of the Nordic ceasefire monitors. The agreement by the Tigers to re-enter into talks with the government came after persuasion by Norwegian peace envoy to Sri Lanka, Hanssen Baur, who visited the rebel headquarters on Saturday.

“Our main priority is now to avoid a war and the head of the truce monitoring mission has left for the rebel-held region of Killinochchi to meet key LTTE leaders for emergency discussions,” Helen Olafsdottir said.

Major-General Ulf Henriccson left for the LTTE de facto capital early in the week for a four-day visit as rebels continued to attack government troops killing seven soldiers since last Saturday. Meanwhile, the military said it was continuing its de-mining operations in LTTE-held areas.

On Monday, the army diffused a bomb weighing seven kilograms which had been tied to an auto-rickshaw parked in northern Muhamalai along the A9 highway that links the South with the North.

Also, a claymore mine was discovered by a police team on Monday noon hidden under a culvert in a Southern district.

Amidst the volatile situation in the north and east following the EU ban, the President’s office said in a statement that the government rejected any suggestions that these measures by the international community would or should encourage any military options by anyone.

“The government is of the firm conviction that solutions to the issue at hand have to be sought only through political means and not through military means,” the statement said. The expected return of the Tamil Tigers to the peace table in June was described by the chief government peace negotiator, Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, as a major breakthrough.

“It is certainly a major breakthrough. We hope we can take the peace process forward and avoid an outbreak of war through this meeting,” de Silva told Dawn.

Political analysts however were pessimistic about the June talks following the declaration by the LTTE that it would not agree to government demands to amend the ceasefire agreement. Reports indicate that there is heavy pressure from the anti-LTTE Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) on the government to insist on a complete review of the ceasefire.

Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva who headed the government peace delegation for talks with the LTTE in Geneva in February failed to convince the guerrillas that the ceasefire should be amended.