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| Sunday, 14 September 2003 |
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Security |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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SLMM, Muslim leaders to meet Karuna by P. Krishnaswamy and Eravur Gp. Corr. Muslim political leaders of the East and the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) are to meet the LTTE Eastern military commander Col. Karuna Amman within the next two days to sort out the question of exorbitant taxes demanded by the LTTE from Muslim traders of Eravur and Kaththankudy. Tension has been high in several areas of the Batticaloa district, following last week's hartal by Muslim traders to highlight the issue. Consultant to the Ministry of Policy Planning, Development and Implementation and former UNP MP for Batticaloa, Alizahir Moulana, discussed the issue with representatives of the Federation of Mosques and the Batticaloa Traders' Association yesterday. He said that the Muslim leaders would meet the LTTE Eastern Commander either today or tomorrow to bring about an amicable settlement. Moulana alleged that certain elements were trying to exaggerate the minor problems faced by the traders in order to disrupt the ongoing peace process, for their own political ends. He was confident of settling the issue and allaying the fears of the traders during discussions with the LTTE. "Both the Government and the LTTE are fully committed to a negotiated settlement", he said. Meanwhile, Deputy Head of the SLMM Batticaloa office, Ms Laila Bataway, said that they are waiting for the LTTE to give a date for discussions on this issue. The Muslim traders who were doing business in Government-controlled areas of the Batticaloa district where there is a concentration of Tamils were no longer going there and the SLMM hoped to settle this matter as it had done in several similar instances in the past, she said. 'In the absence of demarcation lines between the Government and the LTTE controlled areas in the Eastern province, this could be the factor for the volatile situation in the province', political sources commented. |
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