The LTTE has demanded the release of two of its cadres arrested by the Kantale Police, for being in possession of firearms and grenades on September 2, in exchange for the abducted soldiers. One out of the abducted soldiers, Deepal Samantha, was released by the LTTE on the 2nd of October on humanitarian grounds.

With a view to address the issue, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe sent Minister Milinda Moragoda to Trincomalee, to meet a cross section of the residents of the area who were affected by the recent developments. Minister Moragoda visited Trincomalee on 6th October, accompanied by Lt General Lionel Balagalle, Commander of the Army and Mr. Bernard Goonetilleke, Director General of the SCOPP.

Minister Moragoda met the Maha Sangha and a representative group of about 50 residents of the area at the Police Quarters of the Deputy Inspector General of Police of the Eastern Province. During the meeting, which lasted over two and a half hours, they explained their difficulties since the signing of the Ceasefire Agreement. They appealed to the Government to prevent the LTTE from taking the law into their own hands, harassing people and engaging in illegal activities. They also pointed out that there was no Sinhala Member of Parliament to represent them in Parliament. They requested Minister Moragoda to appeal to the Prime Minister on their behalf to nominate a Minister to look after their welfare. Minister Moragoda agreed to convey this request to the Prime Minister.

Following the meeting, Minister Moragoda visited the Trincomalee Clock Tower site, where the relatives of the abducted soldiers were staging a peaceful protest, demanding the release of the soldiers. The relatives of the soldiers pointed out to the Minister that the abduction was unacceptable in the context of the ongoing peace process. The Minister assured the relatives that the Government would act speedily to secure their release.

Minister Moragoda also met Tamil United Liberation Front Member of Parliament, Mr. R Sambandan, and discussed the issue. Mr. Sambandan expressed the view that public demonstrations should not be prevented but protesters should not be permitted to block roads and disrupt normal activities, which were detrimental to economic progress and cause inconvenience to the people in the area. Mr. Sambandan offered to follow up on the abduction of the soldiers with the LTTE.

Meanwhile, Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), Major General Trond Furuhovde, on a request made by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, met LTTE Political Wing Leader, Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan in Killinochchi and discussed the issue of the abducted soldiers on Sunday, October 6. Major General conveyed to the LTTE leadership the Government’s position, which he stated is shared by the SLMM, on the LTTE cadres who had been arrested by the Police. He pointed out that these LTTE members had been in possession of assault rifles and grenades and engaged in illegal activities at the time of their arrest. This was quite different to the situation of the soldiers, who had been abducted by the LTTE. Ways and means of diffusing such situations in the future were discussed. It was agreed that a mechanism should be formulated to expeditiously resolve such incidents in the future. The SLMM stated that this meeting had been positive and constructive. The SLMM believed that a solution could be found for the release of the soldiers in a few days time.