SLMM head to visit Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 09 July 2002, 02:04 GMT]
The Norwegian head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Major General (Retd.) Trond Furuhovde will visit Trincomalee for two days. He is scheduled to meet representatives of several organisations at the Trincomalee office of the SLMM Wednesday, and the LTTE leaders at Sampoor in Mutur east Thursday, sources said.

His visits comes in the wake of several problems in the smooth implementation of the cease-fire agreement in the eastern port town.

Civilians organisations in Trincomalee will discuss various problems, including the resettlement of Tamil families displaced in Thiriyai village and recent violence between Tamils and Muslims, the sources said.

The LTTE leadership in Trincomalee are expected to raise the question of Sri Lankan security forces arresting without cause unarmed LTTE cadres working in the army controlled areas.

According to the cease-fire agreement after ninety days from February 23 - the date when the truce came into effect - any number of unarmed LTTE cadres are entitled to enter army-controlled areas without arms and their freedom of movement is not to be restricted, except in designated high security zones.

However government forces last week arrested five unarmed LTTE members in the Trincomalee district. The LTTE members were later released by the courts on surety bail.