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LTTE hardens stand on demands

By V. S. Sambandan

COLOMBO. DEC. 16. After a relatively smooth run, the Sri Lanka peace talks are headed towards the more difficult phase with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) saying that it would stay away from future meetings to discuss de-escalation unless the Government met three conditions by December 31.

The Tigers want complete removal of restrictions on fishing, a mechanism to work out the re-settlement of the internally displaced persons in the HSZs and an end to ``harassment of civilians at checkpoints'' in the peninsula, for its continued participation in the Sub-committee on De-escalation and Normalisation (SDN), sources in Jaffna said.

The Sri Lankan Defence Secretary, Austin Fernando, and the LTTE's military commander for Batticaloa and Amparai, V. Muralitharan (a. k. a. `Col.' Karuna), jointly head the SDN. The LTTE's intention to boycott these meetings was conveyed by `Col.' Karuna to journalists in Jaffna after the latest meeting on Saturday.

Regaining Jaffna, which the Tigers lost to the Sri Lanka Army in 1995, is high on the LTTE's agenda. While the LTTE says that nearly 35 per cent of the peninsula is under the High Security Zones (HSZs), the Army points out that the percentage is much less. The HSZs adjoin sensitive military pockets — Valigamam north (where the Palaly airstrip and the Kankesanthurai port are located), around Point Pedro, across the Vadamarachchi and Thenmarachchci theatres of operation such as Nagarkoil, Eluthumadduval and Kilali, through which the Forward Defence Lines of the Sri Lanka Army run. In addition, Jaffna town, Mandaithivu and areas around Chavakachcheri also fall under the HSZs.

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