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DATE=4/21/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=SRI LANKA ARMY (S&L)
NUMBER=2-261586
BYLINE=JIM TEEPLE
DATELINE=NEW DELHI
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO:   In Sri Lanka a highly decorated army officer 
has been put in charge of halting a Tamil Rebel 
offensive in the northern Jaffna
peninsula.  V-O-A's Jim Teeple reports Tamil rebels 
have escalated their attacks against government forces 
over the past several days --  and both sides are 
reported to have suffered heavy troop losses in the 
battle to control a strategic north-south highway. 
Text:  Major General Janaka Perera, one of Sri Lanka's 
most decorated soldiers, has been put in charge of 
keeping the strategic north-south A-9
highway under government control. 
Tamil Tiger rebels launched a major offensive this 
week to capture a portion of the highway that runs 
through Elephant Pass - the causeway
that links the northern Jaffna peninsula with the rest 
of the country.  Rebels lost control of the area to 
the army in 1996.  
Sri Lankan military authorities acknowledge some of 
their troops have withdrawn from some of their 
positions in the area.  Heavy casualties
are reported on both sides in some of the fiercest 
fighting in the region in months.   
//  REST OPT FOR LONG //    The new fighting comes as 
Norway has been trying to get the Tamil Tiger rebels 
and Sri Lanka's government to negotiate a solution to 
the conflict which has claimed more than 55-thousand 
lives over the past 20-years.   Both sides have agreed 
to Norwegian mediation but so far no dates have been 
set for a face-to-face meeting.   
Tamil Tiger rebels are fighting to carve a separate 
homeland out of the Northern and Eastern regions of 
Sri Lanka.  Many Tamils say when it comes to getting 
jobs and a good education they face discrimination at
the hands of the Sinhala majority.  Sri Lanka's 
government says past discriminatory practices against 
Tamils are no longer in effect. 
(Signed)
 neb/jlt/plm
21-Apr-2000 06:45 AM EDT (21-Apr-2000 1045 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.