CFA abolition no declaration of war
– Defence Spokesman
[Thursday, January 17, 2008 - 5.25 GMT] 

The abolition of the CFA was not a declaration of war, said Government Defence Spokesman, Minister Keheliya Rambukwella addressing a media conference on Wednesday (16) in Colombo.
  
“The Government was prepared to discuss the problem of terrorism and national security as a national issue with all democratic forces of Tamil Parties and other political parties,” he added while insisting that the Government will not move away from the path of fighting terrorism.

He said that the CFA was signed in good faith but it turned futile when the LTTE began violating it and as the magnitude of the violations escalated. In the six years of its existence the LTTE sought to cause destruction and death each time it was weakened, he noted.
  
‘Although the Cease Fire Agreement was between two parties, LTTE leader Prabhakaran clearly desired to be the sole regulator, once even refusing to recognize members of the European Union who were part of the SLMM,” the Minister added.
  
The LTTE attacks on civilians were not unleashed following the nullification of the CFA but has been a habitual occurrence from the early days of the CFA, the Minister observed. "Today, for instance, the LTTE unleashed their usual terror in Monaragala, killing 27 and injuring 60 odd people including 11 children, while in another incident an army Unicorn vehicle was attacked injuring four soldiers,” he said.

“The Government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa although it had received a mandate to pursue its own course of action regarding the CFA, sought to revive negotiations in Oslo and Geneva. These failed efforts and the intransigence of the LTTE and its continuing faith in terrorism had forced the Government to withdraw from the CFA,” the Minister added.