Lanka will not bow to calls for truce under international pressure
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
New Delhi, Feb 25, IRNA -- Admitting that there was international pressure on it to go for a ceasefire with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Sri Lankan government said it would not bow to calls for a truce as the rebels were on the brink of total defeat.
"We are not ready for a ceasefire and the war against terrorism is at the last stage," Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake said at a function in Colombo, Indian official media reported.
"Some countries are pressurizing us to go for ceasefire agreement. They think Sri Lanka is a colonial country and it should abide by what they say," he said.
Stating that Sri Lanka was a democratic country, Wickremanayake added it was the government of the people and that the policies were drafted according to their wishes and expectations.
"We will listen only to the people (of the country)," the prime minister said while ruling out any ceasefire with the LTTE which he said was waging a war against the government.
"We cannot listen to the concerned international body or community which is putting pressure on us to accept a ceasefire agreement with LTTE," he said.
Our (Sri Lanka's) sovereignty must be respected and there should be no condition. We will not yield to any pressure," he said.
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