DATE=4/29/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=SRI LANKA PRESIDENT (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-261826
BYLINE=VANDANA CHOPRA
DATELINE=COLOMBO
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga says
she is always open to peace talks but she says the war
with the Tamil Tiger rebels will continue with the use
of maximum energy by government forces. Vandana
Chopra has the details from Colombo.
TEXT: President Chandrika Kumaratunga spoke to the Sri
Lankan nation late on Friday and said her government
will relentlessly pursue winning the long running
ethnic war by military means if the Tamil Tiger rebels
were unwilling to join the peace process. She said
she would unleash the full force of her government
against the rebels.
The President announced steps to bolster the Sri
Lankan military by calling to active duty all military
reservists. It is the first call-up of the reserves
in the 17 years of the war.
In a broadcast on state radio and television,
President Kumaratunga acknowledged that the
government's "tactical withdrawal" from the
strategic Elephant Pass military complex was a
temporary setback for the security forces. The Tiger
rebels recently re-captured the Elephant Pass military
complex and now control the gateway to the entire
northern Jaffna region.
President Kumaratunga admitted there were shortcomings
in the Sri Lankan government's military strategy and
many other reasons which resulted in this Elephant
Pass setback. She said she advised the nation's
military leaders about a new military strategy on
Thursday on her
return to the capital Colombo, after receiving
treatment overseas for injuries received in an
assassination attempt.
Analysts say the rebels are likely to launch an
assault to re-capture their former stronghold, Jaffna
which they lost to the government forces in 1995.
Meanwhile, President Kumaratunga has invited the
opposition party leader, Ranil Wickremasinghe, for an
urgent meeting to discuss the war situation.
The Tiger rebels are fighting for a separate homeland
for the minority tamil
community in Sri Lanka's north and east. (Signed)
NEB/VC/PLM
TEXT:
NEB/WTW/
29-Apr-2000 04:30 AM EDT (29-Apr-2000 0830 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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