Vavuniya Tamil groups ordered to hand over firearms

[TamilNet, Saturday, 09 March 2002, 17:49 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Saturday ordered all Tamil paramilitary groups in Vavuniya district to surrender their firearms before 10 a.m. on Monday. At a conference held Saturday at the Vavuniya SLA headquarters, the Vanni SLA commander told the representatives of the Peoples Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO), Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) wing that all firearms they possess should be handed over to the SLA within forty-eight hours from Saturday morning.

The representatives of the Eelam People's Democratic party (EPDP) did not attend the conference though invited by the SLA, security sources said.

The Sri Lanka Army has been entrusted with the task of disarming all Tamil paramilitary groups operating in areas held by the SLA in the Northeast province within thirty days of signing of the cease-fire agreement by the United National Front government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The agreement was signed on February 22, 2002.

Sri Lanka Army said that the PLOTE returned a part of the weapons, ammunition and a van they were using on 7 March.

"The Brigade Headquarters in Jaffna town had taken over twenty eight T 56 weapons, 3090 T 56 rounds, 113 T 56 magazines, 25 Chinese pouches, 07 rifle slings and a vehicle bearing no 56 - 2093," a press note issued by the SLA said.