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Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, in a reply to LTTE Chief Negotiator Anton Balasingham's letter on temporarily pulling out of peace talks, yesterday expressed the hope that the LTTE would review its present stance and continue its participation in the negotiations.

"Both sides have obligations to fulfil the terms of the Ceasefire Agreement. While there has been increasing compliance, I agree with you that there is much to be done to implement fully, the provisions of the Ceasefire Agreement. Our view is that both parties should commit themselves to doing so," Prime Minister Wickremesinghe told Balasingham in the letter.

The letter was delivered to Balasingham in London by the Norwegian facilitators.

"The final objective is the normalisation of the ground situation. However in view of the fact that the conflict has been long drawn out, normalisation is bound to be a difficult process. Both sides have been impatient at the pace at which normalisation has taken place and it would be necessary to renew our joint commitment to make progress," the Prime Minister said.

Pointing out that the 14 month period of peace has been "one of steady progress and hope to our people", the Prime Minister said the Ceasefire Agreement has been consolidated as a result of the sincerity and determination shown by both sides.

Referring to the Washington donor parley, the Premier said the LTTE's inability to attend it was due to the fact that the organisation remains banned under United States law. "I regret the LTTE could not participate and you will appreciate that the government cannot be blamed for this situation."

He reiterated that the government was committed to working with the LTTE in rebuilding the North-East from the inception.

Commenting on the resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons, the Prime Minister said there had been progress and the government has taken substantial loans from the World Bank and the ADB for this purpose.

The noted that there have been delays in implementation [of resettlement] due to the breakdown in government administration as a result of the 20 year conflict. There are proposals to strengthen the effectiveness of implementation and the LTTE will be briefed on these.

Replying to Balasingham's comments on military occupation, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said there are steps yet to be taken to reduce the constraints now necessitated by security considerations. "It is the policy of the government to restore normality in order that the civilian population would be able to carry on their customary livelihoods".

The Army will release two hotels in Jaffna town and the surrounding houses. the report prepared by General Sathis Nambiar on the High Security Zones will be available on the talks resume, the Premier added. He stressed that there was no intention to exclude the LTTE from the process of economic development of the North-East. Plans in this regard will be worked out in consultation with the LTTE.

"One of the achievements of the government and the LTTE was the ability to cooperate in commissioning the Multi Agency Needs Assessment to identify the reconstruction and rehabilitation requirements of the North-east. Once the two parties agree on this, it will become the official planning framework for rebuilding the North-East."

The Prime Minister hoped that the LTTE would continue the partnership which has achieved considerable success. "I believe this would be in complete accord with the firm desire of all our people that the peace process continues without interruption."

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