LTTE response: Govt cautiously optimistic

COLOMBO: The Government yesterday expressed cautious optimism on the LTTE's response to their urging of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran's personal assurance on the LTTE's commitment to peace.

Government Defence Spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwella at the weekly security briefing said Norwegian envoy Hans Brattskar who went to Killinochchi with the Government's message has returned with a satisfactory response.

"Brattskar returned with the LTTE response to our demand to give Prabhakaran's personal assurance on the LTTE's commitment to peace," the Minister said.

"We will shortly forward the response to the President and announce our stance," he said.

Questioned if the LTTE leader has agreed to give a personal assurance, the Minister said the LTTE has raised some security concerns about the issue.

He justified the Government's stance saying that the LTTE has not acted with good faith during the last 23 years.

He said successive Governments from Thimpu Talks onward were acting with pure intentions, but the LTTE always used the truce to build up their military strength.

"From the beginning of Thimpu Talks we have been very sincere, nobody could have been more genuine," he said.

The Minister also expressed disappointment over an alleged statement of the new Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission chief Maj. Gen Lars Johan Solvberg and Brattskar which claimed the facilitator and the truce monitors were frustrated with the developments in Sri Lanka. He said the statement which appeared in media if true was very disappointing.

He also expressed concern over the parity of status given in the said statement to the Government and the LTTE. Commenting on the closure of the A-9 highway that connects the Jaffna peninsula with the rest of the island, he said it was the LTTE that forced the closure of the highway by attacking the troops in Muhamalai, the last entry point from South of cleared areas to uncleared Wanni.

He said the Government through sea and air has transported over 13,000 tons of food and essential items to the North, an increase of over 30 per cent, over last two months' supplies. "We do not say every thing is perfect. There may be problems in distribution," he said adding that the problems in the administrative system may cause irregularities in distribution.