Government sets rules for Tigers
Government sets rules for Tigers
Colombo: The government has laid down a series of conditions for the Tamil rebels to re-man political offices in areas under government control in the north and east, compelling the rebels to indefinitely put off the reopening of their offices, officials said.
The 28 conditions were communicated to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Jaffna leader Ilanparidi in a letter from the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) following a meeting they had with the security forces in the area about the Tigers' intention to resume work tomorrow, military officials said.
The Secretariat for Co-ordinating the Peace Process had also dispatched a short communiqué addressed to the SLMM on Monday stating the government's position on the issue.
The main conditions in the three-page letter include: names of those who will be engaged in political work have to submitted, identification will be handed upon entry into government-held territory and a fresh ID will be given by the army.
- LTTE will have to say where the cadre hopes to work and duration of stay.
- The army will have permission to check vehicles.
- Political work will be conducted under supervision and other parties will be allowed to engage in political work without hindrance.
Concern
Nation could slip back to civil war
Sri Lanka's military and the Tamil Tigers both lack commitment to a 2002 ceasefire that halted two decades of civil war and further provocation could rekindle a rash of deadly attacks, Nordic truce monitors said yesterday.
The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission said it had not ruled out rebel involvement in Saturday's attack, when rebels blew up their trawler and sank a Lankan patrol boat leaving eight sailors dead.
