DATE=5/18/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT
TITLE=SRI LANKA BLAST (L)
NUMBER=2-262524
BYLINE=VANDANA CHOPRA
DATELINE=COLOMBO
INTERNET=YES
CONTENT=
INTRO: The Sri Lankan government says it withheld
news of a deadly bomb blast on Wednesday in an effort
to prevent more ethnic violence in the country.
Twenty three people died as a result of the blast,
which went off near a Buddhist temple in the eastern
part of the country. Vandana Chopra has more from
Colombo.
TEXT: The government statement says the blast in
Batticoloa, a predominantly Tamil town 220-kilometers
east of Colombo, was an attempt by the rebels to
trigger an ethnic backlash and bolster their
propaganda machinery.
The government has called upon all citizens to protect
the Tamil population of the country who do not agree
with what are described as the brutal acts of the
rebels.
The government says it was the fear of ethnic
disharmony that motivated its decision to delay news
of the explosion until Thursday. The blast coincided
with the Vesak festival which marks the birth,
enlightenment and death of Buddha.
President Chandrika Kumaratunga has ordered the
establishment of civil defense committees to protect
the Tamil population.
In response to the latest violence, the government has
been censoring both local and foreign media and does
not allow journalists in the war-torn areas.
Meanwhile, heavy fighting continues in the northern
Jaffna region where the government has accused Tamil
rebels of firing artillery and mortars into populated
areas.
Fierce fighting between the government and the Tamil
rebels broke out a week ago, after the government
rejected a rebel offer for a temporary ceasefire.
Aid officials are expressing growing concern for the
500-thousand civilians in the northern Jaffna region.
President Kumaratunga has said the government is
prepared to negotiate peace with the rebels, but would
not withdraw troops from the north and east.
The rebels have been fighting for autonomy for the
minority Tamil community in Sri Lanka's north and east
since 1983. (SIGNED)
NEB/VC/KBK
18-May-2000 12:40 PM EDT (18-May-2000 1640 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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