The Secretary General of the Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP)
Mr. Jayantha Dhanapala visited the Batticaloa District Office of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) on 16th July 2004 to obtain further insight on the ground situation in the district.

During his visit, he met with the government representatives of the local monitoring committee and had extensive discussions with SLMM officials. He also had deliberations with religious dignitaries, civil society representatives, security forces personnel and the police.

This is the first official visit made by Mr. Dhanapala since he assumed duties as the new head of SCOPP on the 1st of June 2004. He is also due to visit the other district offices in Jaffna, Mannar, Vavuniya, Trincomalee and Ampara in the next few weeks.