DATE=5/21/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=LANKA/ BATTLE (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-262616
BYLINE=VANDANA CHOPRA
DATELINE=COLOMBO
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Tamil politicians are calling for Indian
mediation to end fighting in the island country.
Vandana Chopra reports from Colombo that heavy
fighting between government forces and Tamil rebels
continues in Sri Lanka's northern Jaffna region.
TEXT: Sri Lanka's minority Tamil political parties
are calling for an immediate ceasefire, saying the
warring sides should sit down and talk.
At a meeting in Colombo, the Tamil political leaders
said they want India to present a comprehensive
political solution to the ethnic problem. The party
leaders said India should not restrict itself to just
providing humanitarian assistance
Despite growing international pressure, India's
foreign minister has ruled out military intervention.
But Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, said
Saturday that India is closely watching the situation
in Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, military officials say Sri Lankan air force
planes are bombing rebel positions in Chavakacheri,
15-kilometers east of Jaffna city. A government
statement says heavy hand-to-hand fighting was taking
place on the outskirts of Chavakacheri.
But in a statement faxed from their London
headquarters, Tamil rebels say they had taken control
of the town after heavily armed commandos, backed by
artillery and mortars, launched a dawn attack.
The Government statement says rebels also shelled an
old-age home in the Kaithady area, in northern Jaffna.
The government says 15-people were killed and 20-
others injured. It says security forces have made
special arrangements to protect public institutions,
including places of worship.
Sri Lanka's top general, Janaka Perera, has rejected a
call by Tamil rebels to pull out of Jaffna, saying his
troops will not surrender.
Government statements about the war have not been
independently confirmed. Reporters are not allowed in
the war areas and news from Sri Lanka is subject to
government censors.
The government forces took control of Jaffna, the
former rebel headquarters, in 1996. The Tamil rebels
have been fighting for a separate homeland since 1983.
(SIGNED)
NEB/VC/RAE
21-May-2000 13:01 PM EDT (21-May-2000 1701 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
