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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Uneasy Truce Begins In Sri Lanka

Associated Press

Sri Lanka’s government and Tamil rebels began a two-week truce early today, their guns silent for the first time in five years in a war that has killed more than 34,000 people.

The rebels have been fighting for a separate homeland in northern Sri Lanka for 11 years. Tamils say the ethnic Sinhalese-dominated government denies them jobs, education and a fair share of the Indian Ocean island nation’s wealth.

No clashes have been reported since Thursday night, said military spokesman Brig. Nihal Jayakody.

“I pray that this will be the dawn of a new era of peace for our longsuffering nation,” President Chandrika Kumaratunga said in a speech to Parliament Friday.

Nevertheless, the fact that they couldn’t agree on a longer cease-fire shows how deeply the two sides distrust each other. The truce, monitored by Dutch and Norwegian observers, is to be reviewed when negotiators meet next Saturday.

“This is the first time we are going into an agreement. … We want to see how it goes,” Mrs. Kumaratunga said Friday.

The two sides have agreed to maintain their present positions, keeping at least 2,000 feet apart. Government and rebel commanders also are trying to stay in communication with each other.

The military has been wary of a truce. Negotiations in June 1990 ended when rebels attacked military bases and police stations, killing hundreds of soldiers and policemen.