EU urges Lankan govt, Tamil Tigers to resume peace talks
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
New Delhi, Aug 18, IRNA
SLanka-LTTE-EU
Expressing its concern over the ongoing tension between the Lankan government and Tamil tigers, the European Union has urged both the sides to stop fighting at once and resume peace talks.
Finland said, "The presidency urges the government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to cease hostilities at once and to resume peace talks," Doordarshan News said here.
"The senseless violence will not resolve the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka," EU President Finland said in a statement, adding that it was deeply concerned about the growing humanitarian crisis in the country.
"The presidency urges the government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to cease hostilities at once and to resume peace talks," Finland said.
Further it reiterated its full support for the peace process and the work of the Norwegian facilitator and called on both parties to guarantee free access for relief agencies to those affected by the violence.
Earlier Sri Lanka has seen three weeks of fierce fighting that many regard as a new chapter in a two-decade civil war halted by a 2002 ceasefire.
Besides the international truce monitors said they believe hundreds of civilians have been killed in the renewed violence.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are fighting for a separate homeland for minority Tamils.
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