Saturday, January 31, 2009

Truce not a ceasefire

Disaster Management Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe yesterday said the 48-hour truce period decided by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to free civilians out of LTTE bondage was in no way a truce.
Addressing a press meeting, following a meeting and a appearance by the Army Commander Sarath Fonseka to the political community in Sri Lanka, at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo Minister Samarasinghe told press that bilateral and many-sided deliberations had been held with the political community pertaining to the present situation in the conflict region in the north.
"The talks centred on the presentation of our war heroes in the north, were open, forthright and see-through. They were also very complete, educational and positive," Minister Samarasinghe said.
Responding to queries from press, Minister Samarasinghe categorically affirmed that the Government is strong-minded not to have a truce.
This special gauge had been taken to ensure the wellbeing and the security of the civilians in the north, he said.
The Government in this background, was urging the LTTE to let go blameless civilians, men, women and children within the next 48-hour, to the declared 'Safe Zone', the Minister said.
Armed Forces have detected that the LTTE were keeping heavy arms near to the 'Ceasefire Zone'. However, the carrying weapons Forces would make sure that they severely refrain from targeting the civilians, he said.
In family member to the vagueness of civilian figures in Mullaitivu, the Minister said that according to figures conventional from the Mullaitivu Government Ajent, there seems to be around 20,000 families. yet, the Nation Building Ministry figures make known that there has been a duplication in the supposed lists.

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