Two Muslim youths disappear, LTTE denies involvement

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 April 2003, 01:24 GMT]
The Trincomalee political secretariat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Tuesday in a statement denied any involvement in the alleged abduction of two Muslim youths in the Mutur sea a few days ago, sources said.

"Tamils and Muslims have been living in Mutur as one family for several years. Currently, some anti-peace groups are actively engaged in creating division between Tamils and Muslims for their own political gain,” the statement said.

"We categorically state we have no connection with the alleged abduction of the said two youths. We have learnt that the mother of an abducted youth has committed suicide. We express our deep sorrow over the death of the mother,” the LTTE's statement said.

The LTTE appealed to Tamils and Muslims to identify the group that is "actively engaged in disrupting peace moves" and urged them to exercise patience and work for establishing lasting peace.

Meanwhile, three Muslim ministers of the United National Front (UNF) government, Messrs. Rauff Hakeem, A.H.M.Azwer and A.R.M.Cader, paid a sudden visit to Mutur to defuse the tension in the area consequent to the suicide of the mother of one of the abducted youth, sources said.

The head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), retired Norwegian Major General Triggve Teleffsen, accompanied the ministers.

A conference was held at the SLMM office in Mutur Tuesday evening, sources said.