BY RANGA SIRILAL COLOMBO, July 22: Sri Lanka’s government on Tuesday dismissed a declaration by Tamil Tiger rebels of a brief unilateral ceasefire from July 26, adding there was no let-up of attacks on rebel positions in the north on Tuesday. "The government is not abiding by it, has no response and is not having discussions with anybody" on the ceasefire gesture, foreign minister Rohitha Bogollagama said in Parliament on Tuesday. A military spokesman said military raids on rebel positions continued on Tuesday and the airforce had attacked a rebel training camp in the north. An email statement from the Tamil Tigers early on Tuesday said the rebels would refrain from military action during the 15th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) conference from July 26 to August 6, but warned they would be forced to take "defensive action" if the island’s military carried out any offensives against them. "As a sign of this goodwill, our movement is glad to inform that it will observe a unilateral ceasefire that is devoid of military actions during the period of the Saarc conference from 26th July to 4th August and give our cooperation for the success of the conference," the Liberation Tigers of the Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said in an emailed statement. The rebel gesture came as government forces continue their push against the rebels’ northern stronghold. Government officials said they had not received an official ceasefire notification from the rebels and were sceptical about the declaration. "You have to look at it historically, there has been a tendency to have a ceasefire in order to build up their strength," said Rajiva Wijesinha, secretary general of the Sri Lanka secretariat for coordinating the peace process. —Reuters Provided by