| Important signs of the
building of mutual confidence between the Sri Lankan Government
and the LTTE leadership have emerged during recent discussions
of Rtd. Major General Trond Furuhovde, Head of Sri Lanka
Monitoring Mission, SLMM, with both parties.
General Furuhovde, accompanied
by his Chief of Operations, Mr. Tarmo Kauppila, flew into
Kilinochi, Sri Lanka, Friday for talks on two key issues
with the Liberation Tamil Tigers Eelam, LTTE leadership.
The issues, that Furuhovde has already discussed with representatives
of the Sri Lankan Government, are firstly; the access of
LTTE members to the Jaffna islands for political work, and
the rules that should apply for that access. And secondly;
the possible sea movements of LTTE members from the LTTE
controlled areas in the north of Sri Lanka to the LTTE controlled
areas on the east coast, in order for the LTTE to be able
to transport their own members in LTTE vessels, to visit
their families in these areas, unarmed.
According to Furuhovde, both
parties have shown significant flexibility and will to find
a solution, during these talks, which has created a good
and positive atmosphere. “I’m very satisfied
with these talks and have found them to be extremely constructive.
This emerging mutual confidence of both parties is exactly
what is needed for strenghtening the Ceasefire Agreement,
and eventually a lasting peace in Sri Lanka.” Furuhovde
said after his briefing with the Prime Minister’s
Secretariat for Co-ordinating the Peace Process, just after
having arrived from Kilinochi to Colombo on Saturday. Furuhovde
added that “at this point, I am very optimistic that
the parties will find a solution to these issues between
them, even as early as next week.”
The Sri Lanka Monitoring
Mission, SLMM, monitors the implementation of the Ceasefire
Agreement, reached by the Government of the Democratic Socialist
Republic of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam, on 22nd february 2002. SLMM has six district offices
and local monitoring committees in the Eastern and Northern
part of Sri Lanka, two naval monitoring teams based in Jaffna
and Trincomalee and Liaison officers to both the LTTE and
the Sri Lankan Government. SLMM is an international Nordic
mission, consisting of monitors from the countries of Norway,
Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland and has headquarters
in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka.
Released By
SLMM HQ
Colombo
Ref: SLMM HQ/09th June
2002/MED/6000
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