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SLMM TO TELL BALASINGHAM AND OTHERS THAT THEY CANNOT UNDERMINE THE AUTHORITY OF THE TRUCE MONITORS By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles March 03, 08:04 PM:When the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) representatives meet Tiger leadership including the visiting Chief negotiator Anton Balasingham in Wanni they would tell the rebels that undermining the authority of the of the ceasefire monitors cannot continue and it was a very serious violation of the ceasefire agreement. SLMM representatives including the new head of the mission, General Tryggve Tellefsen and outgoing head Major General Trond Furhovde are scheduled to meet the Tiger leadership, Wednesday March 3 in Wanni, Northern Sri Lanka. Hagrup Haukland , the Deputy head of the SLMM said the monitors have strongly protested against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam violating the ceasefire agreement by undermining the authority of the truce monitors through refusing to release the Sri Lanka Army soldier and the Sri Lanka Police constable, in their custody. The LTTE falsely promised the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission to release them until seven LTTE cadres who were cornered by the Sri Lanka Navy and caught in a tense standoff were released with the intervention of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission. After the release the LTTE backtracked on their promise and demanded the release of six more LTTE cadres in a swap for the two in custody. LTTE’s chief negotiator Anton Balasingham is visiting Wanni for consultations with the LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran before he leaves for Japan for peace negotiations between March 18 and 21. Hagrup Haukland said by disobeying an order of the SLMM the rebel group has undermined the authority of the truce monitors, which was a serious violation of the ceasefire agreement. If the LTTE wanted to change the authority of the SLMM the Sri Lanka government and the LTTE could sit down and re-negotiate the agreement. Haukland said so far no party had indicated to them the authority vested in the SLMM should be changed. So, the monitors under the agreement still held the force of authority. He said by continuing to disobey them the LTTE was committing a serious violation of the agreement. Anyway, o3/03 go2lanka.com) |