- Colombo should disarm all unauthorized armed groups-
National Peace Council
[TamilNet, February 11, 2005]
The National Peace Council in a media release issued Friday in
Colombo said that "there needs to be confidence building and
positive action at this time is imperative in view of consistent
accusations by the LTTE of alleged military connivance in the
activities of the Karuna group. We call on the government to ensure
that all unauthorised armed groups are disarmed as required by the
Ceasefire Agreement."
Full Text of NPC's media release follows:
"The assassination of the LTTE's eastern political leader Kausalyan
and the killings of five others, including former TNA
parliamentarian Chandra Nehru who was also a member of the North
East Secretariat on Human Rights serve as a grim reminder of the
flawed and fragile nature of the current ceasefire in which
violations of the Ceasefire Agreement and of human rights have
proliferated. The recent killings have also shattered the hopes of
people that the tsunami tragedy would have brought reconciliation
between the conflicting parties. The UN Secretary General Kofi
Annan's condemnation of the killings as a setback to the peace
process highlights the gravity of the situation and the concern of
the international community.
The National Peace Council condemns the killing of Kausalyan and
others in a highly militarised part of the east between Welikanda
and Punani. Those who are parties to the Ceasefire Agreement must do
their utmost to honour the agreement and to ensure protection to one
another. When unarmed LTTE cadre and civilians pass through
government-controlled territory the need for tightened security
precautions on both sides becomes necessary as indeed required by
the Ceasefire Agreement.
The National Peace Council welcomes the government's immediate
condemnation of the killings. That there needs to be confidence
building and positive action at this time is imperative in view of
consistent accusations by the LTTE of alleged military connivance in
the activities of the Karuna group. We call on the government to
ensure that all unauthorised armed groups are disarmed as required
by the Ceasefire Agreement and that the promise made in Parliament
to appoint an independent commission of inquiry into this incident
is followed up.
The aftermath of the tsunami disaster created humanitarian space
that enabled members of the government and LTTE to come together on
the ground to resolve the problems of the people. We recognise that
their mutual focus was mainly on the provision of relief and the
facilitation of relief efforts. However, the killing of Kausalyan
and others, and the importance of the position that Kausalyan held
serve as a clarion call to all sections of Sri Lankan society to
give their primary attention to the speedy resumption of peace
talks.
The equitable and efficient provision of relief to the victims of
the tsunami cannot be separated from the urgent need re-activate the
peace process. The support extended by the international community
to Sri Lanka for the setting up of a shared mechanism for the
disbursement of tsunami relief provides an opportunity for
confidence building for both sides. It is imperative that this
opportunity provided by the generosity of the international
community be grasped. We appeal to the government and to the LTTE to
utilise the goodwill generated by cooperation in the distribution of
tsunami relief as a first step to revive the peace process without
delay."
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