Curfew listed in eastern Sri Lanka, but tension remains

Police lifted a curfew in eastern Sri Lanka today amid beefed-up security, after violence killed at least two people and strained the fragile cease-fire that has halted the country’s brutal two-decade civil war.

A cease-fire was signed in February 2002, but peace talks have collapsed over disagreements about the rebels’ demands for greater Tamil autonomy.

Last week, the Tigers’ leader apparently threatened to resume fighting if the government did not agree to resume peace talks based on the rebels’ proposal for self-rule.

Following the latest violence, the army has ordered soldiers on leave to report for duty and deployed more troops to Trincomalee, the site of a key government naval base.

The incidents occurred amid accusations by Tiger-backed groups of police and military harassment during weekend celebrations of Martyrs’ Day, an annual rebel event commemorating some 18,000 Tigers who died in the civil war.

There was no immediate comment from the Tigers.

European monitors overseeing the cease-fire have said the incidents have exerted “tremendous pressure” on the truce.