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Colombo insists on right to intercept suspicious vessels
By Nirupama Subramanian
COLOMBO, FEB. 8. A draft truce agreement between Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE provides for cessation of hostilities on land, at sea and from the air, but discussions are continuing between the two sides on military action in self-defence.
Sri Lanka has conveyed to Norway, which is facilitating the peace process, that the navy's right to intercept suspicious vessels that could be transporting weapons for the LTTE should be categorised as a defensive action.
Officials said they were confident that the matter would be resolved soon and a final document prepared for signing for which no date has been set yet, despite earlier optimism that it would be done before February 24.
The draft contains a general provision for the Sri Lankan armed forces to ``perform their legitimate task'' of safeguarding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka.
The other issue being discussed through Norwegian interlocutors is the inclusion of child conscription as a hostile act against civilians.
The LTTE has recently been accused of forcible recruitment of children in eastern Sri Lanka.
The cease-fire is to be monitored by a Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission that will liaise with both sides through an office in Colombo and one in the Vanni, and will report to the Government of Norway.
It will be advised by committees in each of the six conflict districts _ Jaffna, Mannar, Vavuniya, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara.
Each committee is to have five members, two of whom will be appointed by the LTTE and two by the Government to be chosen from among eminent people of the area.
An international monitor from a Scandinavian country will head each of the committees. Members of the committee are to be given freedom of movement and the ``widest possible'' access by both sides.
They have been mandated to take ``immediate action'' on complaints made by either party, to inquire into and assist in the settlement of any dispute, with the aim of resolving such disputes at the lowest possible level.
The agreement allows both sides to carry on recruitment activities ``exclusively for the purpose of maintaining the forces' strength and status'' as they were before December 24, when the present truce being observed by the two sides came into being.
But it debars the two sides from hostile acts against the civilian population. The present draft specifies torture, intimidation, abduction, extortion and harassment, but does not mention child conscription or killing of political rivals.
The draft agreement provides for freedom of movement for combatants on both sides. Unarmed troops of the Sri Lankan military are to be allowed by the LTTE to travel from Jaffna to the south on the Jaffna-Kandy A 9 highway, within 60 days of the cease-fire coming into effect.
The road, which is closed now, is to be opened within 30 days of the commencement of the truce agreement.
Individual combatants, unarmed and out of uniform, are to be allowed to visit friends and relations living in areas under the control of the other party on a restricted basis. Unarmed LTTE members can also visit areas under Government control for ``purposes of political work''.
The forces of the two sides are to be separated at established forward defence lines by a minimum of 600 metres. However, each party will have the right of free movement within 100 m of its own defence line.
A Norwegian delegation, led by the Deputy Foreign Minister, Vidar Helgesen, which finished two days of talks here with the Sri Lankan Government today on the cease-fire agreement, briefed the acting Indian High Commissioner, Mohan Kumar, on the latest developments in the peace process.
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