As violence escalates in Sri Lanka, Annan appeals to parties to attend peace talks

Expressing concern at the escalating violence in Sri Lanka, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today appealed to the Government and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to attend next week’s peace talks in Geneva, while the senior UN official on the island said the latest killings of aid workers could threaten humanitarian operations to those most in need.

Mr. Annan believes it is of “utmost importance to find ways to implement the Ceasefire Agreement, start re-building trust and lay the foundations for a lasting peace,” a UN spokesman told reporters, highlighting the “crucial” 19 to 21 April talks to be facilitated by Norway.

Echoing the Secretary-General’s concerns, the UN Resident Co-ordinator in Sri Lanka – who is also the head of humanitarian operations – said the latest killings, which included the deaths of two aid workers, “potentially threaten humanitarian operations in the most vulnerable areas affected by the tsunami and the conflict.”

A statement from the Coordinator issued in Colombo said that a third humanitarian aid worker, a British national and her family, also sustained injuries in Tuesday’s incident in the Trincomalee district of the island.

Violence has continued in Sri Lanka despite a ceasefire agreement of February 2002 aimed at ending two decades of fighting between the Government and separatist forces that has claimed some 60,000 lives.

In February, 10 humanitarian aid workers were reportedly abducted on the island and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that despite some respite in the violence after agreement was reached to hold the peace talks, “tensions remain high in many areas,” and that some population movement continues.