LTTE extends unilateral ceasefire

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 January 2002, 13:04 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in an official statement issued Sunday from its headquarters in Vanni, northern Sri Lanka, extended its unilaterally declared cessation of hostilities for another one month, from midnight 24 January to midnight 24 February 2002.

“We have decided to extend the truce for another month as a gesture of peace and goodwill and also to provide further space and time for the Norwegian facilitators to workout terms and conditions for a mutually agreed structured cease-fire. We fervently hope that the Government of Sri Lanka will reciprocate favourably to our goodwill gesture and extend the period of peace accordingly,” the LTTE’s statement said.

The statement concludes by stating that the LTTE leadership has, through its chief negotiator Mr Anton Balasingham, informed the Royal Norwegian government of its decision to extend the truce and requested the facilitators to convey the decision to the Government of Sri Lanka.