Agence France Presse

Colombo, May 10:

Shops were closed and public transport ground to a halt in northern and eastern Sri Lanka today as Tamil Tiger rebels warned that the killing of a Tamil protestor could seriously undermine a three-year truce.

Key towns in the northern and eastern provinces were at a virtual standstill following the strike called by pro-rebel activists the day after the army killed a 65-year-old man during a protest over a new police checkpoint.

“We fear that incidents like this will weaken the confidence people have in the ceasefire agreement and create anger among the people and will lead to increased tension in the prevailing fragile situation,” the Tigers said in a statement.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), in their first reaction to yesterday’s military crackdown in the district of Batticaloa, said the shooting was a violation of the ceasefire between the LTTE and the government that went into effect from February 23, 2002.

“Blocking peaceful protest by the people using arms and violence is against the rules of the ceasefire and will affect the validity of the ceasefire agreement,” the Tigers said in a statement.

Sri Lankan soldiers opened fire yesterday when hundreds of demonstrators hurled stones at a military jeep to protest a new road checkpoint set up by police and soldiers.

The military today ordered all its units to act with maximum restraint and use minimum force to disperse any new protestors in the troubled eastern region, an army officer said.

“We have also ordered all units to ensure that local police are called for crowd control instead of deploying security forces for such work,” the officer said.