A powerful Sri Lankan official has said the government must abolish the ceasefire agreement signed with Tamil Tiger rebels in 2002 and make a fresh start to address the country's ethnic issue, according to official newspaper on Saturday.
"I think the most sensible thing is that we must end this ceasefire agreement by officially declaring there is no ceasefire agreement," Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa was quoted by the government's official newspaper Daily News as saying.
He said, "the government can make a fresh start to address Tamil grievances once it officially bans the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and abolishes the ceasefire agreement."
Gotabhaya, who is the younger brother of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, said the ceasefire agreement has become "a joke" in the eyes of the people with so many violations.
"The ceasefire agreement exists only on paper. Obviously we can see that there is no ceasefire. It has become a joke," the defense secretary said.
Gotabhaya also said the LTTE should be banned since it is a terrorist organization and the government is fighting with the organization.
"We should not give solutions to the LTTE which is a terrorist organization. The LTTE is just a part of the Tamil people and solutions should be given to the Tamil people," he stressed.
He said that the military victories will definitely pave the way for a peaceful solution to the long drawn-out ethnic problem.
Clashes between government troops and the LTTE began to escalate since the end of 2005, in which more than 5,000 people have been killed.
Source: Xinhua
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