Conditions to ensure LTTE adheres to Ceasefire -Army Chief

Ranil Wijayapala

COLOMBO: The Government may lay down certain conditions to ensure the LTTE does not take advantage during the Ceasefire, if the Ceasefire is to be continued and genuinely adhered to and respected, Army Commander Lt. General Sarath Fonseka said.

In an interview with the Daily News at the Army Headquarters, the Army Commander said these conditions should be laid down to guarantee that the LTTE does not bring in weapons, kill its opponents and consolidate their military strength under cover of the ceasefire agreement.

"We should not allow the LTTE to do those things under the cover of the Ceasefire Agreement," the Army Commander added.

"From the date the Ceasefire Agreement was signed, we tried our best to live with the Ceasefire and uphold it. But when they started attacking us starting from Mavilaru, Sampur and Muhamalai then we cannot think of the Ceasefire Agreement and get attacked and lose our lives and property. We had to counter attack," the Commander added. He said at the moment the ceasefire agreement was not functioning since there is fighting between the Government and the LTTE.

"There is no ceasefire, there is fighting. If the LTTE genuinely respected the CFA not in the way they were doing so the last time, I think everybody will like it. Under cover of the CFA, they killed informants, political opponents and even Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar and tried to kill me inside the Army Headquarters".

"That is not a Ceasefire. If they genuinely respected the ceasefire agreement everybody would have liked it," he added. If the ceasefire agreement is to be genuinely respected and upheld, the Government might lay down some conditions to ensure that the LTTE can't take advantage during the Ceasefire like bringing weapons, killing opponents, consolidating their military strength, he said.

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