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Lanka opposition wants ceasefire details out in open
The controversy over amendments reported to have been made to the existing Ceasefire Agreement with Tamil rebels has taken a further turn with the opposition demanding that the government make a clarification on the amendments.
- By Sinha Ratnatunga, Correspondent
- Published: 00:00 March 2, 2006
Colombo: The controversy over amendments reported to have been made to the existing Ceasefire Agreement with Tamil rebels has taken a further turn with the opposition demanding that the government make a clarification on the amendments.
The main opposition is demanding that the government makes public the amendments it is reported to have made to the existing CFA.
The United National Party (UNP) joined the dispute whether the CFA had been amended, after the rebels denied that the original agreement signed in February 2002 was amended.
But, the government has reiterated its position that the agreement has been amended.
"The public has a right to know what the changes made to the CFA were, and the government should reveal these to the people", UNP Member of Parliament Hemakumara Nanayakkara said.
The UNP challenged the government to clearly point out what clauses of the ceasefire agreement had been amended at the Geneva talks instead of making misleading contradictory statements.
UNP Member of Parliament, Bandula Gunawardena said that the government was claiming a victory because some of the clauses in the ceasefire agreement had been amended but the public were demanding to know exactly what these amended clauses were.
Criticism
Tamil Tigers send child fighters home
Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels said yesterday they have released 20 combatants who had lied about their ages in order to join the insurgency, hoping to ease UN criticism that they forcibly recruit children under 18 to fight.
"This release is part of a process taken up by us to ensure that underage youths who voluntarily join the LTTE are sent back to their parents," Daya Master said from Kilinochchi, a stronghold of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
AP
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