Mediators call for end to 'futile' Lanka fighting

Tamil demonstrators gathered in front of the Norwegian Parliament in Oslo during a protest march yesterday. The demonstrators rally to ask help from the Norwegian Government for securing a ceasefire between Sri Lankan forces and Tamil Tiger separatists in Sri Lanka. Photo: AFP

International mediators of the conflict that has pitted separatist Tamil Tigers against government forces in Sri Lanka on Thursday called for both camps to cease their "futile" fighting.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) should "permit freedom of movement for the civilians" trapped in the strife-hit northern part of the country, representatives of the Tokyo Co-Chairs -- the United States, the European Union, Japan and Norway -- said in a statement.
The group also called on the Sri Lankan government to "respect the 'no fire zone' and protect the civilians trapped there," according to the statement published by the State Department in Washington.
The mediators "reaffirmed the need to stop shelling into the 'no fire zone' to prevent further civilian casualties" and "stressed the importance of a humanitarian pause."
They also said necessary food, water and medicine supplies must be able to reach civilians, the statement said.
During a teleconference organised by Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher, he and the other representatives from the mediating group "discussed how to best end the futile fighting without further bloodshed," it added.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon reviewed the humanitarian crisis in strife-hit northern Sri Lanka with President Mahinda Rajapaksa Thursday and asked that trapped civilians be allowed to leave the area, the world body said.
A UN statement said the two leaders "spoke again today (by telephone) about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Vanni region and their shared concerns about the civilians still trapped in the area."
Ban "reminds all concerned of their obligations to do all they can to protect civilians, and stresses that civilians should be allowed to leave the affected areas," it added.
On Thursday the pro-Tamil Tiger website Tamilnet.com said heavy shelling by the Sri Lankan army of a designated safe area had left 129 civilians dead and 282 wounded.
The website said government forces pounded the area on the northeast coast throughout Wednesday, hitting sites including a child nutrition centre. It said the attack was the "most cruel carnage" by the army in months of fighting.
Sri Lanka's government says it is in the final stages of defeating the Tigers, who launched a campaign in 1972 to create a separate Tamil homeland on the Indian Ocean island.
UN human rights chief Navi Pillay said last month that more than 2,800 people had been killed in the conflict since late January.
The United Nations has said it is very worried about the fate of at least 100,000 Tamil civilians who are trapped in the fighting zone. The world body also says both sides in the long-running ethnic conflict may be guilty of war crimes.
Authorities have in the past denied hitting civilians, and in turn accuse the LTTE of holding tens of thousands of Tamils to use as human shields.