LTTE's deliberate withdrawal from truce clauses ruse for war - Defence Spokesman

Uditha Kumarasinghe and Rajmi Manatunga

COLOMBO: The Government Defence Affairs Spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwella yesterday underscored that the LTTE pulling out of the Ceasefire Agreement clause by clause was a deliberate and strategic ploy to weaken the SLMM and push the country towards war.

He said at present a third party from the SLMM has decided to pull out from the truce mission. With it the number of the SLMM members now number 21 which includes 17 Norwegians and 4 Icelanders, the Minister told the weekly Cabinet press briefing yesterday. The original membership of the SLMM was 57.

According to the CFA agreement signed in 2002, there is a clause the Government and the LTTE should guaranteed the safety of the members of the SLMM. At present the LTTE demands that certain SLMM members should go as they were EU members, he said.

"But I understand these members are leaving not because they are EU members. They are leaving because one party to the CFA agreement have pulled out from that agreement saying that they cannot provide security to these officers.

"This indicates that the LTTE is pulling out of the CFA agreement clause by clause deliberately and strategically and attempting to weaken the SLMM and thereby pushing the country to war," the Minister said.

Therefore, it is a completely wrong message that the LTTE is attempting to convey ie the Government is pushing the country to war by pulling out from the CFA. The LTTE is very systematically pulling itself out of the CFA and is violating the CFA with the intention of pushing the country to war, the Minister said.

According to the Minister after Geneva 2 the LTTE destroyed Dvoras, killed 12 Navy personnel attached to a medical division killed another 17 innocent civilians at the Trincomalee fair during the Sinhala New Year season, and made an attempt on the life of Army Commander, attacked the Pearl Cruiser and also killed over 60 civilians in Kebethigollewa.

Due to its firm commitment to peace, the Government took forward its peace process even amidst severe criticism from certain sections. "This is how the Government has conducted its peace mission with the public and the country in mind in consultation with the international community.

"No Government anywhere has acted with the patience displayed by our Government on this issue. Even today the window is open to the LTTE to re-enter the peace process," the Minister said.