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| Saturday, 18 December 2004 |
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Helicopter rides will be on case by case basis - SLAF from Ranil Wijayapala in Diyatalawa The provision of chopper rides for the Norwegian delegations and LTTE delegations by the Sri Lanka Air Force to and from LTTE controlled areas in the North will be decided on a case by case basis in future, Air Force Commander Air Marshal Donald Perera said yesterday. Speaking to media personnel following the passing out ceremony of the Sri Lanka Air Force in Diyatalawa, the Air Force Commander said the decision to provide chopper rides to Norwegian Special Peace Envoy Erik Solheim was following a request by the Norwegian facilitator. President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga considering the busy schedule Solheim had that day directed us to facilitate his visit to Kilinochchi by air. However, he said Solheim could not reach Kilinochchi owing to the bad weather conditions that day and had to land in Anuradhapura. The Air Force Commander said the decision to stop providing chopper rides to Norwegian facilitators and the LTTE was taken after considering the security situation in the country after reviewing the incidents in the North and East recently. He, however, said that the decision by the Air Force will not be an obstacle for the on-going peace initiative between the Government and the LTTE. Air Marshal Perera said the decision was taken only after the submissions made by him considering the security situation in the country. He said the President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga as the Commander-in-Chief of the three Armed Forces has the authority to decide regarding the provision of chopper rides to Norwegians and the LTTE. Expressing views about reports about an Air Wing of the LTTE Air Force Chief said that they have no intelligence reports about an LTTE air wing despite the reports about the runway in the Wanni and some reports about the availability of 'ultra lite' and 'micro lite' type aircraft with the LTTE. However, he said it would not pose any type of danger to the Sri Lankan Air Force as the Sri Lanka Air Force can detect them at once. "They cannot pose any military threat to us by using them," he said. Donald Perera added that they were considering to have state-of-the-art air defence system by installing modern radar system to cover entire country. However, the Air Force Commander said that the LTTE may use these things to recruit more young people to their organisations saying that they will be members of that Force. |
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