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DATE=5/27/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=SRI LANKA CEASEFIRE (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-262874
BYLINE=VANDANA CHOPRA
DATELINE=COLOMBO
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels have offered a 
unilateral ceasefire to allow civilians trapped in the 
northern Jaffna peninsula to move to areas of safety. 
And as Vandana Chopra
reports from Colombo, the rebel offer for a ceasefire 
comes soon after their announcement that they are 
ready for the final assault on Jaffna city.
TEXT:  There is no word on whether a truce is in 
effect since journalists are not allowed into the war 
zone in northern Sri Lanka.  There has been no formal 
response from the government to the rebel ceasefire 
proposal.
A government statement says Tiger rebels launched a 
mortar attack on Sri Lankan troops in the 
Colombuthurai area, and the troops retaliated with 
medium artillery.
Military officials say fighting in the northern Jaffna 
region, has already started to ease.
Fierce fighting had raged for days as rebels try to 
regain their former stronghold they lost to government 
forces in 1996.
There are thousands of government troops stationed in 
Jaffna. Aid officials have also expressed growing 
concern for the estimated 500-thousand civilians based 
in the peninsula, many of whom have moved out from the 
main Jaffna city while some have taken refuge in 
churches and schools where the living conditions are 
not very good.
Meanwhile, President Chandrika Kumaratunga in a 
television interview urged the Tiger rebel leader, 
Velupillai Prabhakaran, to give up violence and enter 
the democratic mainstream.
Norway is trying to broker peace between the two 
warring sides and U-S Undersecretary of State, Thomas 
Pickering is due to arrive in the capital Colombo, 
Monday, to hold talks with the Sri Lankan leaders. 
The Tamil rebels have been fighting for a separate 
homeland in Sri Lanka since 1983.
(Signed)
NEB/VC/PLM
TEXT:
NEB/WTW/ 
27-May-2000 08:04 AM EDT (27-May-2000 1204 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.