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Raise LTTE truce violations during talks - President

President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga yesterday requested Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to ensure that truce violations by the LTTE are discussed during the peace talks starting on Monday.

In a two-page letter to Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, President Kumaratunga said the government has ignored serious ceasefire violations committed by the LTTE. A list of such violations was annexed to the letter.

"I cannot think of any responsible government anywhere in the world that would have acted in this manner in the name of peace, with regard to one of the world's most ruthless terrorist organisations which has not yet even agreed to give up terrorism," the President said.

"I decided that it was a suitable moment to convey these instructions to you in writing as the first round of talks are scheduled to begin in a few days in Thailand," she wrote.

"The Defence Ministry has allowed the LTTE to continuously violate the ceasefire agreement in a serious manner and I convened emergency Security Council meetings to discuss two such very serious incidents. At the first meeting, I gave clear instructions to both the Defence Minister and the Defence Ministry Secretary in front of other members of the Council. But they had not carried out my instructions when the second incident occurred," she said.

She recalled that in both instances (Vakarai, May 2002 and Trincomalee, July) the Navy had captured a number of LTTE boats carrying weapons and explosives. The Defence Ministry had given instructions to release those boats together with the weapons and the LTTE cadres. Even if the cadres were released, the weapons contained in the boats could have been confiscated, the President said.

She wrote that the ceasefire violations would "hamper the country's sovereignty, territorial integrity and security".

The President urged the Prime Minister to ensure that such acts are not repeated hereafter.

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