Sri Lankan Leader Rules Out Amnesty for Tamil Group

Because of their recent attacks on unarmed civilians, the Tamil Tigers no longer enjoy amnesty under the peace agreement signed with India, Sri Lankan President Junius R. Jayewardene said Friday.

Jayewardene spoke at a press conference attended by senior Indian officials who had come to this island nation to re-emphasize India’s commitment to enforcing a July 29 agreement to keep peace between Tamil separatists and the Sri Lankan government. Sectarian violence, which the agreement was designed to end, has instead been increasing in recent days.

The Sri Lankan president urged Indian peacekeeping troops in Sri Lanka to arrest Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabakaran. Prabakaran heads the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, largest and most powerful of the Tamil separatist groups fighting in the four-year ethnic war here in which more than 5,000 people have died.

‘He Must Be Arrested’

“Prabakaran is a self-proclaimed murderer,” Jayewardene said. “Obviously he must be arrested.”

At the press conference, Indian Defense Minister K.C. Pant avoided comment on the amnesty question. Under terms of the agreement signed by Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Jayewardene, all Tamil militants on the island, estimated at about 5,000, would be granted amnesty if they agreed to surrender their weapons.

After the press conference, however, an Indian official agreed with Jayewardene’s stand on the amnesty question.

“They can’t kill people and still be under amnesty,” he said.

During the last few days, the Tigers are alleged to have killed more than 180 people, mainly civilian Sinhalese Buddhists. Thousands of refugees have poured into Colombo and other cities as a result. The 12,000-strong Indian peacekeeping force on the island has been accused of standing by as the violence escalated.

On Wednesday, India condemned the killings and pledged to get tough with the militants, who have widespread sympathy among the 55 million Indians in Tamil Nadu state with whom they share linguistic and cultural traits.

5 Tamil Camps Raided

On Thursday and Friday, Indian forces detained 98 Tamil fighters and raided five Tamil rebel camps for weapons. Unconfirmed reports indicated that several major Tamil Tiger leaders were detained. But Prabakaran, 34, the best-known guerrilla leader, was not among them.

Meanwhile, there were indications of retaliation by Sinhalese Buddhists against Tamils. According to Sri Lankan police reports, the bodies of eight Tamil passengers who had been riding on a bus from Colombo to Kalamunar in the Eastern province were recovered Friday in the jungle.

The Tamils were apparently separated from their fellow passengers and killed in a fashion similar to the killings of Sinhalese civilians by Tamil Tigers on a bus Wednesday.

India’s Defense Minister Pant toured Indian army positions Friday along with Indian army Chief of Staff Krishnaswami Sunderji.

“We have come to reassure you that we are going to implement the agreement in letter and spirit,” Pant told Sri Lankan journalists. “We stand by President Jayewardene.”

Tamils, mosts of them Hindus, make up about 18% of Sri Lanka’s population of 16 million. They charge that they are discriminated against by Sinhalese Buddhists, who make up 73% of the population and control the government.