Sri Lanka says no permanent truce until laying down of arms

COLOMBO, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's government here Tuesday rejected a call by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels for a permanent ceasefire. "Taking the history of the conflict into consideration we can't agree to a ceasefire until the LTTE lay down arms", Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena told reporters. "The LTTE want breathing space either to re-arm and regroup or time to have their leaders flee the area they are trapped in", Abeywardena said. The Minister's response came to a rebel statement calling for a permanent ceasefire. The LTTE dubbed the 48-hour truce ordered by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse as one to hoodwink the Tamil community as well as the international community. Meanwhile the defense officials said that the 48-hour truce would end at midnight local time (1830 GMT) Tuesday. The military blamed the rebels for not honoring the truce called on account of the traditional Sinhala and Tamil New Year

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