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| Sunday, 28 July 2002 |
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Voices: PSG calls on all parties to strictly abide by ceasefire We the undersigned members of the Peace Support Group (PSG) express our deep conern over the recent incident in Palk Bay, South of Jaffna peninsula involving the interception of two LTTE trawlers by the Sri Lankan Navy (SLN) on Saturday, 13th July. We are, in particular, alarmed by the manner in which the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) conducted itself during its stand-off with the Navy by virtually holding as hostages two Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission's Naval Monitors who were engaged in their official duty of not only inquiring into the incident, but in also settling the dispute. We strongly feel that whatever may have been the provocation that the LTTE has accused the Navy, of this particular response by the LTTE is by no means justifiable under any circumstances and goes contrary to the spirit of the ceasefire agreement. In response to the observation made by the Head of SLMM, Major General Trond Furuhovde in this regard in an official media release, we are pleased to note that the LTTE had accepted responsibility for this unfortunate incident and tendered an apology to the SLMM. This is a positive outcome to an incident that could have led to dangerous consequenes. This is not the first time that the peace process has been tested in Sri Lanka's territorial waters since the signing of the Ceasefire Agreement with periodic provocations from both sides. The recent incident underscores the urgency of evolving a mutually acceptable formula that would enable the legitimate logistical movement of LTTE boats between areas under their control, without in any way jeopardizing the legitimate task of the SLN in safeguarding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka. We recognize that this may neessitate making amendments or modifications to the Ceasefire Agreement by mutual consent in accordane with Clause 4.3 of the CFA. Meanwhile, we call on the Sri Lankan armed forces and the LTTE to exercise utmost restraint in responding to ceasefire violations by the other party and to honour the commitments made by Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and LTTE Leader Pirabhakaran in signing the CFA in February 2002. The SLMM and the Norwegian facilitators should be supported in ironing out all contentious issues arising out of the Ceasefire Agreement. Sunila Abeysekera |
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