A9 closure is ‘breach of CFA’ – SLMM

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 November 2006, 19:37 GMT]
International monitors overseesing Sri Lanka’s truce have criticized the Sri Lankan government for closing the A9 highway at Muhamalai, The Sunday Leader reported. "The government is clearly violating the Ceasefire Agreement and they have trapped more than half a million civilians within the Jaffna Peninsula. The A9 should be opened immediately," acting spokesperson for the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), Helen Olafsdottir, said.

“We do not know what the government's intentions are by keeping the A9 closed," she said.

“We were expecting the government to discuss the opening of the A9 highway at the Geneva talks.”

The SLMM last week informed relief agencies that the opening of the highway was one of their current top most priorities, the paper said.

The paper quoted SLMM as saying while the government continued to ignore the pleas of aid agencies to open the A9, it would continue to mount pressure and hold discussions with the government till such time the road was opened.