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The government of Sri Lanka says it is withdrawing from a cease-fire agreement with Tamil rebels because the pact¹ has become meaningless. Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi the withdrawal² is largely symbolic³ because the Norwegian-brokered truce⁴ collapsed⁵ two years ago.
　

斯里兰卡政府说，即将退出和泰米尔反政府武装之间的停火协议，因为这份协议没有意义。退出协议主要是象征性的，因为这份在挪威斡旋下达成的停火协议两年前就已破产。

The government's decision to end a 2002 truce agreement with Tamil rebels came as virtually everyone acknowledged that the pact existed only in name.

斯里兰卡政府决定结束2002年和泰米尔反政府武装签订的停火协议，事实上所有人都承认这份协议已经是名存实亡。

The announcement came late Wednesday after a meeting among senior Cabinet ministers.

斯里兰卡政府星期三晚上在开完内阁会议后宣布了这个决定。

Sri Lanka's foreign secretary, Palitha Kohona, says the government is "reluctantly" ending the truce because it did not achieve what it was supposed to - a peace settlement with the rebels, known as the LTTE.

斯里兰卡外交部部长科霍纳说，斯里兰卡政府不情愿地结束这项停火协议，因为这份协议没有实现预定目标，也就是和反政府武装之间和平解决问题。

"From the beginning it was observed only in the breach⁶ by the LTTE. In the first couple of years, it used the cease-fire agreement to regroup, rearm, and then in 2005 it launched massive attacks on government forces," said Kohona. "In a real practical sense, this agreement served very little purpose."

科霍纳说：“泰米尔反政府武装一开始就破坏了这份协议。在最初两年里，泰米尔利用停火协议重整旗鼓，重新武装，然后在2005年，他们对政府军发起了大规模进攻。从实际角度来看，这份协议几乎没有发挥作用。”

Both the rebels and the government routinely blame each other for the resumption of hostilities⁷. The fighting began soon after a hard-line government took over in Colombo, and the rebels accused the government of a lack of seriousness in pursuing peace talks. The Tamil rebels want an autonomous⁸ homeland for Sri Lanka's minority Tamil community.

反政府武装和政府之间常常相互指责挑起敌意。在强硬派政府上台后，反政府武装指责政府没有诚意举行和平谈判。泰米尔反政府武装要求在斯里兰卡少数民族泰米尔社区建立自治家园。

In the past two years, near-daily clashes on the battlefield, assassinations⁹ and bombings have killed about 5,000 people.

过去两年来，双方几乎每天都在战场上发生冲突，加上暗杀和爆炸事件，总共造成大约5000人死亡。

Political analysts¹⁰ say ending the truce will polarize the two sides even further. They say the government, which has scored some military successes against the rebels, wants to defeat them on the battlefield.

政治分析人士说，结束停火协议会使得双方更加对立。他们说，取得了一些军事胜利的斯里兰卡政府想在战场上击败反政府武装。

Foreign Secretary Kohona says ending the country's ethnic¹¹ conflict should not be linked to negotiations¹² with the rebels.

斯里兰卡外交部长科霍纳说，结束民族冲突不应该和反政府武装谈判挂钩。

"A political settlement is not necessarily going to be with the Tamil Tigers," added Kohona. It will take into account the concerns of the Tamil people of Sri Lanka and the other minorities of Sri Lanka."

他说：“不一定要和泰米尔猛虎反政府武装达成政治解决方案，政治解决要考虑斯里兰卡泰米尔人民和其他少数民族的愿望。”

Norwegian mediators have expressed concern about the government's decision to end the truce, calling it a "serious step." Norway's foreign ministry¹³ Web site says there have been increasingly frequent and brutal¹⁴ attacks by both parties, and there is concern that violence and hostilities will escalate¹⁵ further.

挪威斡旋人士对斯里兰卡政府结束停火协议的决定表示担心，称这是一个“严肃的步骤”。挪威外交部网站上说，双方的攻击更加频繁和残酷，有关方面担心暴力和敌意会进一步升级。

The truce had received wide international support, and raised hopes of ending the country's quarter-century long ethnic conflict. But the formal ending of the cease-fire means the civil war could drag on for years.

这项停火协议曾经得到国际社会的广泛支持，有希望结束斯里兰卡25年来的民族冲突，可是正式结束停火协议意味着这场内战可能会长久蔓延下去。