International   

Accord on ways to monitor cease-fire

B. Muralidhar Reddy

COLOMBO: The Government of Sri Lanka and the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) have agreed on the need for fresh approaches in order to generate greater confidence in the monitoring of the cease-fire accord and to enhance the prospects for peace in Sri Lanka.

The issue was the main agenda at the weekly meeting of the SLMM headed by Major General Lars Solvberg, with the Secretariat for Monitoring the Peace Process (SCOPP) on June 28 at the SCOPP headquarters here.

The agreement acquires importance on two counts. It is a reiteration on the part of the Mahinda Rajapaksa Government to stay the course on the Cease-Fire Agreement (CFA) amid conflicting voices from within the regime on the utility of the pact, in the wake of escalation of hostilities between Government forces and the LTTE. According to SCOPP, the proposed approach may include new ways to monitor the cease-fire accord and reforms will be within the framework and the mandate of the SLMM, as provided in the CFA.

A statement by SCOPP said, at the meeting, its new chief, Rajiva Wijesinha, reminded his counterpart of the importance of the SLMM, and noted that according to the CFA, its responsibilities were not confined only to inquiry.

The meeting discussed the necessity to increase the number of international monitors. Separately, the military said members of the Civil Defence Force confronted a large group of LTTE cadres at Jayapura in Trincomalee. The Defence Ministry alleged that two civilians were shot dead by suspected LTTE militants at separate incidents in the Jaffna peninsula.

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

Stories in this Section

Accord on ways to monitor cease-fire
U.N. hails polls in East Timor
Hu lauds Hong Kong progress
80 killed in air strikes: Afghan villagers
Ozone depleting material banned
Samjhauta: India to pay compensation

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