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27-04-2006

US to lead global campaign against Tigers

WASHINGTON: The United States yesterday vowed to organise an international pressure campaign against the LTTE in the aftermath of Tuesday's suicide bombing in Colombo.

Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher said the State Department was in touch in Washington and abroad with other countries "to bring to bear whatever pressure we can on the Tigers to abandon this course of action" and to look for ways to support the Government of Sri Lanka.

Boucher called the bombing, which targeted the Army Chief, a terrible terrorist attack and said it was "regrettable the Tigers decided to restart the war instead of restarting the peace process".

Boucher said the United States was not talking to the Tigers. However, he said, "we work with a lot of parties who have a lot of contacts with them". The United States banned the LTTE nearly a decade ago.

The US was one of the first countries to condemn Tuesday's attack. "This is clearly an act of terror, which we condemn," the State Department's deputy spokesman Adam Ereli told reporters. "It is an unacceptable act of terror, a clear provocation and an escalation of violence."

Boucher and Ereli expressed the United States' sympathy to the victims.

"The people of this country ought not to have to live for another 15 to 20 years with this reprehensible terrorist group keeping this country verged on the edge of war," said US Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns in January.

The US has often called on the LTTE to give terrorism and all forms of violence in word and deed.

Co-Chairs of the Sri Lankan Peace Process (United States, European Union, Japan and Norway) condemning the attempted assassination of Lt. General Sarath Fonseka, exhorted the LTTE to cease all suicide attacks and other forms of violence.

The Co-Chairs summoned another emergency meeting yesterday to discuss the current situation in Sri Lanka and possibly their future course of action with regard to the peace process, diplomatic sources said.

This was the second meeting the Colombo representatives of the Co-Chairs held within 30 hours of the brutal attack by the LTTE. They were expected to deliberate on appropriate steps to convince the two parties to stick to negotiations.

Source-Daily News