Tigers declare "goodwill" month-long ceasefire

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 December 2000, 11:47 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers declared Thursday a month-long unilateral ceasefire "as a goodwill measure to facilitate the peace process." A press release from the organisation's London offices quoted a statement released by its headquarters in the Vanni said it would cease hostile military actions against the Sri Lankan armed forces from midnight 24 December.

Following is the full text of the Press Release:

"The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in an official statement issued today from its headquarters in Vanni, northern Sri Lanka, announced the declaration of a month long unilateral cease-fire as a gesture of goodwill during the festive season to facilitate and promote initiatives towards a peace process.

'Mr. Velupillai Pirapaharan, the leader and military commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, has issued orders to all units and combat formations of the Tamil liberation army to cease hostile military actions against the Sri Lanka armed forces from midnight 24th December 2000 to midnight 24th January 2001', the LTTE's statement declared.

'We make this declaration of cessation of armed hostilities unilaterally hoping that the Sri Lanka government will reciprocate positively and instruct its armed forces to observe peace during the festive season of Christmas, New Year and Pongal (Hindu Harvest Festival). Our decision to cease armed hostilities should be viewed as a genuine expression of goodwill indicating our sincere desire for peace and negotiated political settlement. We offer this space of peace to facilitate and promote initiatives to create congenial conditions of normalcy de-escalating the armed confrontation', the statement said.

'If Sri Lanka responds positively by ceasing armed hostilities against our forces and takes steps to implement the Norwegian proposal of mutual confidence building measures, the LTTE will be prepared to extend the period of peace to create cordial conditions for a stable cease-fire and direct negotiations', the statement further stated."