SLMM confirms need to disarm para-military groups
by Shanika Sriyananda
The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) confirmed the need of
disarming all para-military groups in the East to restore normalcy in
the region.
The SLMM has insisted that only the Security Forces and the Police
could use weapons in government controlled areas. SLMM sources told the
'Sunday Observer' yesterday that the SLMM has looked into this matter
following the recent statements made by high-ranking government
officials which stressed the need of disarming the para-military groups
in the East.
The SLMM Head Maj. Gen. Lars Solveberg has discussed the matter with
the Chairman, Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP)
Prof. Rajiva Wijesinghe at the routine meeting last week, which was held
to discuss the ongoing issues related to the peace process. Both parties
had welcomed the government stance and agreed to the need to disarming
para military groups in the East, especially to restore the day-to-day
life in the region.
SLMM sources said that the SLMM agreed to look into continuous LTTE
attacks on civilians in villages in Weli-Oya in the Anuradhapura
district and another LTTE attack on civilians in uncleared areas in
Mannar. "We had received five complaints of abductions in the East
during the week", he said.
Meanwhile, the SLMM has informed the SCOPP about recent abductions
reported from the East and constant shelling reported in the North.
According to SLMM sources the SCOPP has agreed to look into these
allegations. According to SLMM sources, the report on incidents which
took place in Jaffna during the past two weeks will be published soon.
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