Sri Lanka rejects Tamil cease-fire offer

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, April 14 (UPI) -- The Sri Lankan government Tuesday rejected a call by rebels for a permanent cease-fire, saying they must first lay down their arms.

The Colombo Page reported the government says the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam need to surrender before a cease-fire can be reached.

"The LTTE wants breathing space either to re-arm and regroup or time to have their leaders to flee the area they are trapped in," Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said.

A statement issued by the Tamil Tigers indicated the rebels were willing to end the fighting and negotiate a political solution and in so doing extend a New Year's holiday lull in the conflict set to end Wednesday.

The Times of London reported Tuesday that remnants of the Tamil Tigers' fighters are trapped in a designated civilian "safe zone" along with an estimated 150,000 non-combatants, whom, the government says, are being used as human shields and threatened with death if they try to leave.

Sri Lankan Army Chief Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka Tuesday vowed to end the rebels' goal of achieving a separate state.

"Our objective should be to eliminate the terrorism and the LTTE's 'Eelam Dream' entirely from the country," Fonseka said.

International observers say without a political solution, the militants will continue to use guerrilla tactics, such as suicide bombings, even if their conventional ground forces are destroyed, The Times reported.