Britain welcomes LTTE ceasefire

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 December 2000, 10:23 GMT]
Britain’s Foreign Office Minister Peter Hain Friday welcomed the Liberation Tigers announcement Thursday of a month-long unilateral ceasefire as “a first step” in de-escalating the conflict and urged the Sri Lankan government to follow suit.

The full text of the statement follows:

“I welcome the announcement of a month-long unilateral ceasefire by the LTTE. I encourage the Sri Lankan Government to follow suit and seize the opportunity offered by this initiative. I hope that this will be a genuine ceasefire and one that will be maintained.”

“For the sake of all Sri Lankans, let us hope that this will be the first step in the process towards creating the right environment for peace negotiations without pre-conditions.”

“I reiterate our support for a solution which upholds the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka whilst meeting the aspirations of all of the communities, including the Tamils.”