LTTE, Sri Lanka military meet over civilian deaths

[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 October 2002, 20:17 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers Saturday requested international ceasefire monitors to take immediate action against those responsible for Friday's gun and grenade attack on Tamil civilians in Trincomalee and demanded Sri Lankan military commanders take steps to prevent future attacks on civilians.

Trincomalee district political head of the LTTE, Mr. S. Tilak, made these requests Saturday when he met the head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), Major General Trond Furuhovde, and the chiefs of Sri Lanka’s three armed forces and the Inspector General of Police.

Mr. Tilak said that the Friday's attack on Tamil civilians in Trincomalee was premeditated and requested the SLMM to ensure that those responsible for the attack on Tamil civilians this week are brought to book.

"Police personnel and home guards attacked Tamils with grenades in the presence of soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army, " he said.

Later the SLMM head met the service commanders and the IGP separately.

In the evening Mr. Tilak also met the three service chiefs and the IGP at the Trincomalee office of the SLMM. Mr. Tilak told the Sri Lankan officers that the use of weapons on civilians was unacceptable.

“It is intolerable that the armed forces use weapons on Tamil people when the ceasefire agreement is in forces,” he said.

The Commander of the Army Lt. Gen. Lionel Balagalle, the Commander of the Navy, Rear Admiral Daya Sandagiri, the Commander of the Air Force Air Vice Marshal Donald Perera, the IGP Mr.T.E.Anandarajah along with their officials and Major General Anton Wijendra, Deputy Chief of Staff of the SLA participated at the evening discussion.