International   

No more rulings on ceasefire violations: monitoring mission

B. Muralidhar Reddy

Navy vessels drew heavy fire from Sea Tigers, says TamilNet

COLOMBO: In an indication that the undeclared war between the military and the Tamil Tigers is spiralling out of control, the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) has notified the Government that it is “no longer prepared to give determinations” on ceasefire violations.

Defence Minister and spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella told a news conference here on Wednesday that the SLMM had intimated the parties concerned of its inability to give rulings on ceasefire violations. However, it would continue to entertain complaints.

The spokesman did not want to go into details of the communication from the SLMM.

Established in the wake of the Norwegian-brokered 2002 Cease Fire Agreement, the SLMM is mandated to monitor and give rulings on cease fire violations.

So far over 5,000 CFA violations, a majority by the Tigers, have been recorded. Since the escalation of the conflict in August, there has been a dramatic rise in CFA violations. Following the withdrawal of European Union monitors from the Mission, the SLMM is finding it difficult to cope with the ground situation.

Both the Government and the Tigers have been unhappy with some of the rulings of the SLMM and its overall functioning. It is difficult to guess at this juncture whether the decision of the SLMM is a step towards its re-organisation or pullout.

Meanwhile, TamilNet claimed that Sri Lanka Navy vessels, which tried to enter LTTE-controlled areas, drew heavy fire from Sea Tigers patrolling the seas between Vettilaikerni and Paruththikkaadu.

It further claimed that the Navy did not permit fishermen from Point Pedro Munai, Kattkoavalam and Vallipuram to venture into the sea.

It alleged that the Army launched heavy MBRL fire towards Point Pedro Munai where the Tiger vessels were present.

The Free Media Movement (FMM), an NGO, said here that the blocking of the access of “pro-LTTE” TamilNet web site “is a significant turn in the erosion of media freedom in Sri Lanka. It clearly demonstrates the extent to which the media is censored and the free flow of information curtailed, without any accountability, transparency or judicial oversight.”

In a statement, the FMM called on the Sri Lanka Government and State authorities to immediately rescind the orders.

“The Free Media Movement is deeply disturbed to learn that TamilNet — www.tamilnet.com — a Tamil news website, is now being blocked by all major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Sri Lanka on the orders of the government.

The FMM said TamilNet was one of most widely visited and well-known news websites in Sri Lanka. “Hosted abroad, the website is frequented by journalists from all ethnicities, civil society and the donor and diplomatic community as well as the Diaspora for situation updates, analysis and feature articles.”

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

No more rulings on ceasefire violations: monitoring mission
Nostalgic celebration of independence
China to build highway to Everest base camp
Row over American “strike” in Pakistan
U.K. Muslims shun knighthood row
Fleeing Gazans trapped at crossing into Israel
Sudan most at risk of failure: report
Attack on home of gurdwara head
Step up engagement with ASEAN: Singapore
“We don’t believe in containing any country”

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu