EU urges parties to restart talks

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 July 2004, 11:43 GMT]
European Union (EU) in a statement issued Saturday expressed its concern about the escalation of violence and urged all parties to continue to respect the Cease-fire Agreement and to work towards resuming the peace talks.

Excerpts from the EU statement follow:

“The presidency of the European Union is concerned about the recent increase in political violence in Sri Lanka, including the political killing in the East and elsewhere and the suicide bomb attack on July 7, the first since the cease-fire began.

“The EU condemns all forms of political violence. There is no excuse for such violence which can never resolve the internal differences in Sri Lanka.

“The vast majority of Sri Lankans – from all communities – simply desire peace for themselves and for their children. The political violence we have seen recently will make it more difficult to restart substantive negotiations towards peace and to deliver on the simple demand from the majority of Sri Lanka’s citizens for peace and security.

“The Presidency of the European Union calls upon all parties to prevent further violence and welcomes that all sides continue to respect the cease-fire. We urge all parties to continue to work towards the restart of substantive talks. Only through dialogue can there be a negotiated settlement to the conflict. We reaffirm the EU’s support for a solution which meets the aspirations of all communities in Sri Lanka, including the protection of human rights”, EU statement said.