4.1.2008
The United Nations, the US, Canada
and Norway blasted Sri Lanka over its withdrawal from th
Ceasefire Agreement.
Deploring
the withdrawal yesterday, UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon
in a statement said that he is "deeply worried"
that the withdrawal from the accord comes amidst intensifying
fighting in the North and increasing violence across the
country, including the capital, Colombo. Moon's spokesman
announced "The Secretary-General urges all concerned
to ensure the protection of civilians and enable humanitarian
assistance to be provided to affected areas."
The
United States State Department spokesman Sean McCormack
said that the US was "troubled" at the move
and urged both sides to avoid further fighting. "Ending
the cease-fire agreement will make it more difficult to
achieve a lasting, peaceful solution" he said and
added "Both sides share the responsibility to protect
the rights of all of Sri Lanka's people."
Canada's
Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier blasted Sri Lanka.
"Canada deeply regrets the decision of the government
of Sri Lanka to withdraw from the 2002 Ceasefire Agreement."
Bernier added: "Withdrawal from this important agreement
will make the search for a durable political solution
more difficult, and only increases the likelihood that
the incidents of violence being carried out by both sides
will increase."
Issuing
a statement on Wednesday, Norway's Minister of International
Development Erik Solheim said that Norway regrets the
Government of Sri Lanka's decision to terminate the 2002
ceasefire agreement. "I regret that the Government
is taking this serious step" he said.
"This
comes on top of the increasingly frequent and brutal acts
of violence perpetrated by both parties, and I am deeply
concerned that the violence and hostilities will now escalate
even further. The termination of the agreement will primarily
affect the Nordic Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM),
as its mandate is set out in the agreement. It may therefore
be necessary to withdraw the mission. This would weaken
efforts to protect the civilian population, which would
be most regrettable" Mr. Solheim said.
Courtesy - Asian
Tribune