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17 die as Navy, LTTE clash

B. Muralidhar Reddy

Ceasefire monitors to meet today

COLOMBO: On the eve of the Oslo meeting of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), Colombo on Wednesday insisted that any unilateral changes in the composition of the ceasefire monitors would not be acceptable. Meanwhile, fighting between LTTE and the Navy reportedly claimed 17 lives.

Defence spokesman Keheliya Rambulwella articulated the government position on the LTTE demand for removal of the European Union (E.U.) members from the SLMM at a news conference here.

Mr. Rambulwella said Tamil Tigers had attacked two navy craft patrolling the Kalpitiya lagoon off the north-western coast and destroyed one of them.

"One patrol craft caught fire and the Navy has requested the Air Force to provide them with firepower against the Tiger boats," he said. According to defence sources, 12 cadres of the LTTE and five naval personnel were killed in the fierce battle, which lasted for over an hour.

TamilNet reported separately that youths were killed in Mylambaveli, 7 km north of Batticaloa town. Observers believe that the latest wave of violence is a further blow to the fragile peace process. The country has seen more than 700 persons killed since January. The ceasefire pact, already threatened, faces another test following the demand by the Tigers for the removal of the monitors representing Finland, Denmark and Sweden.

The SLMM said the Tigers told it that they would extend the one-month deadline they imposed for the removal of the monitors. The Tigers now want the change in three months. Norway, which failed to bring the two sides together for talks, is to meet on Thursday with other truce observers to decide the future of the ceasefire monitoring mission.

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