Peace in Sri Lanka

An incident that took place on 12 February 2003, in Manipay, Jaffna, over LTTE women cadres wearing military uniform type belts, which had the appearance of military attire were prevented from moving around in government dominated areas in the Jaffna peninsula.

The ceasefire agreement is explicit in the Section on “Freedom of Movement”, it clearly refers to permitting combatants unarmed and in plain clothes to enter government dominated areas. Intention being that any resemblance of military persona was not considered appropriate to build confidence among the parties.

To avoid the recurrence of incidents, such as the one that took place in Manipay, the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) has implemented with immediate effect the following interim arrangements in accordance with Paragraph 3.2 of the ceasefire agreement :

1.	LTTE cadres wearing military uniform type of belts, requesting entry at GOSL security forces checkpoints, will voluntarily remove the military uniform type of belts before entries. The cadres will not wear the uniform type of belts while staying in GOSL controlled areas .
2.	LTTE cadres not wanting to remove the military uniform type of belts before entry will be denied access and turned away.
3.	If LTTE cadres do not obey orders given by the checkpoint crew at such entry points or anywhere within GOSL controlled areas, the crew will immediately call for SLMM assistance. Such provision is afforded to the LTTE too in such an instance.
4.	SLMM monitors will, on the spot, rule the situation and advise both parties for strict compliance.

The SLMM proposes to review the matter by 24 February 2003