Sri Lanka truce 'in jeopardy' as Tamils angered

European cease-fire monitors met with Sri Lankan authorities today, as Tamil Tiger rebels threatened to use their own “air capability” and warned the island’s fragile truce was in jeopardy.

The rebels were angered by the government’s refusal to provide air transport for guerrilla commanders after suspected Tigers killed a senior government military officer last week.

“Colombo’s refusal to continue this arrangement has forced us to plan our own means of providing travel arrangements using our own land, sea or air capability,” said SP Thamilselvan, the rebels’ political chief.

“We have clearly indicated to the Norwegian delegation this will lead to a potentially explosive situation,” he said yesterday, after talks with European truce monitors in the northern rebel-held capital of Kilinochchi.

The US and India have expressed concern about the rebels’ apparent ability to acquire aircraft, which they fear could threaten security on the tropical island.

Wagn Winkel, acting head of the European truce monitoring mission, began talks today with Jayantha Dhanapala, head of the government body handling the peace process, about the rebels’ concerns, said mission spokeswoman Helen Olafsdottir.

“We are very concerned when the cooperation between the parties fails,” she said, adding the monitors were hopeful of resolving the matter.

Thamilselvan sought to ally concerns about the rebels’ possible use of air power.

“We can categorically say all military infrastructures we have built are solely for the purpose of providing safety and security to our people,” he said. “Our military capabilities were not built to threaten our neighbouring countries or any other people.”

The Tamil Tigers began fighting in 1983 for a separate homeland for minority ethnic Tamils in the country’s north and east, claiming discrimination by the majority Sinhalese. The conflict killed nearly 65,000 people before the February 2002 cease-fire. Subsequent peace talks broke down in 2003.