International
Navy pulls out of fight with LTTE flotilla
By Nirupama Subramanian
COLOMBO, JAN. 21. Sri Lanka's Navy pulled back from a confrontation with a flotilla of Sea Tiger boats in the island's northern waters in the early hours of today, as the Government followed the LTTE in announcing an extension of the current truce till February 24.
The Government's decision to extend the ceasefire was announced by the Norwegian Foreign Ministry hours after the LTTE declared its own decision to do the same on Sunday.
The confrontation between the Navy and the LTTE began shortly after midnight when a naval missile boat spotted a flotilla of nine Sea Tiger boats south of Point Pedro, defence sources said.
The cessation of hostilities being observed by the military does not cover surveillance operations by the Navy. The Defence Ministry said in a release last month that this was being done to prevent the LTTE from bringing in arms and ammunition during the truce. The Navy fired on the flotilla and the two sides then exchanged fire. But the Navy suddenly disengaged from the confrontation and pulled back towards Point Pedro, while the Sea Tiger flotilla sped off and beached at Chalai, near Mullaithivu.
In Batticaloa, a fisherman identified as Vithyanathan, who was allegedly abducted by the LTTE on January 16, was found dead today. He is said to be a former member of the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam and was killed apparently for keeping links with the security forces.
Put off local polls: TULF
The Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) has said the local elections scheduled to be held in March should be put off in the north-east in view of the ongoing peace process between the Government and the LTTE.
The party, which is the chief constituent of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), said in a press release that the elections could ``have the effect of retarding'' the peace process.
The last elections in northern Sri Lanka were held in 1998 and the elected bodies completed their four-year term in a few days. Local elections in the rest of the country were due in 2001 but were put off by the then Government and must be held this year.
At a meeting of its central committee, the TULF adopted a resolution that the elections should not be held ``at present'' in the north-east. It also resolved that the ban on the LTTE must be lifted for peace talks to be meaningful. It asked the Government to remove restrictions on all items going to the LTTE-held area, except those that could be classified as weapons of war or military accessories.
Last week, the Government removed seven-year embargoes on a wide range of items but kept six items on the banned list and restricted the flow of cement, fuel and iron rods.
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