Secretary-General deplores escalation of violence in Sri Lanka,

 

Calls on parties to refrain from force, return to negotiations

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

The Secretary-General is alarmed by the upsurge of violence in Sri Lanka in the past several months, including today’s appalling suicide bombing of a convoy of military buses.  The Secretary-General deplores the escalation of violence.

The Secretary-General stresses once again that a return to civil war will not resolve the conflict.  He calls upon all parties to refrain from the use of force and to return to the negotiation table at the end of this month, as tentatively agreed between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

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For information media • not an official record