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Create atmosphere for talks, says LTTE

B. Muralidhar Reddy

Monitoring Mission to meet Tigers today

COLOMBO: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), in its first detailed reaction to the Sri Lanka Co-Chairs' statement two days ago that the rival sides in the island nation had agreed to hold unconditional talks in Oslo in October, said the Norwegian facilitators and the international community must ensure that the Government adheres to the territorial demarcations and the terms and conditions of the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA), to create a conducive atmosphere for talks.

Speaking to TamilNet web site, the head of the LTTE's political wing, S. P. Thamilchelvan, welcomed the Co-Chairs' insistence that the Government "must ensure that its military abides by the Ceasefire Agreement and implements the pledges from the Geneva meeting in February 2006."

"Halt aggression"

"It is the Sri Lankan Government, which by launching major aggression against our controlled areas, has carried out breaches of the CFA of the utmost seriousness.

"It is, therefore, the primary responsibility of the [Mahinda] Rajapaksa regime to create a conducive environment by respecting the lines of territorial demarcation underpinning the CFA so that the peace process can move forward," Mr. Thamilchelvan told the web site. He said the LTTE's position had been unambiguously set out when the Tigers met a Norwegian delegation led by Ambassador Hans Brattskar on September 6 in Kilinochchi. There was no change in the LTTE policy since then.

About the charge by the Government that the LTTE is not allowing supplies for the population of the Jaffna peninsula, Mr. Thamilchelvan said his organisation has told the International Committee of the Red Cross that it would cooperate fully in the transportation of humanitarian supplies through demarcated land routes.

However, the Government, which was engaged in military aggression against the LTTE, was determined not to reopen the supply routes, he said.

He alleged the armed forces occupying the LTTE-controlled areas had carried out abductions, extra-judicial killings and committed other abuses.

These matters would be taken up when the new leadership of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission met the LTTE on Friday, he said.

On the political front in the country, the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the main Opposition party, United National Party (UNP) are to commence their joint meeting on Friday to take stock of the situation in the country and consider ways to cooperate in the larger interest of the people.

Bid to narrow differences

Both parties have nominated a group of five representatives for the purpose.

The attempt to narrow differences between the two sides and look at possibilities of greater cooperation is a follow-up to the meeting between Mr. Rajapaksa and the UNP supremo and Leader of the Opposition, Ranil Wickremesinghe, earlier this week.

Meanwhile, at least seven persons, including two soldiers, were reported killed in sporadic acts of violence in Sri Lanka.

According to the military, LTTE cadres fired at an STF camp in Vavuniya and soldiers retaliated with small arms. Two LTTE members were killed. In another incident, suspected LTTE cadres shot dead three civilians in the district.

The Government said the STF arrested an LTTE cadre with a cyanide capsule attempting to cross the checkpoint at Nugelanda in Ampara.

In another incident at Vavuniya, Tigers lobbed a hand grenade at the army/police sentry point from the Vavuniya-Colombo bound inter-city train.

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