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Delay in talks but key issues being resolved
Talks between the government and the LTTE will not take place as scheduled by the end of this month or early next month, but the peace process is on track with a series of issues over the implementation of the ceasefire agreement being ironed out, government sources said.

A government source confirmed that the talks would have to be delayed, adding that "we do not have to work to a time frame, but are more interested in carrying on with the peace process".

Earlier the government announced that direct talks with the LTTE were due to take place in Thailand by the end of June or in early July. The government has so far not officially declared that the time frame had been deferred.

Government sources attributed the delay to the resolving of a series of issues connected with the ceasefire agreement. The issue of permitting LTTE cadres to enter the islands off the Jaffna peninsula was also being resolved and an LTTE team is for the first time due to visit the islands accompanied by the members of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) today.

The issue about fishing restrictions was being solved following a discussion between Defence Secretary Austin Fernando and representatives of the fishing community in the north. With immediate effect, night fishing was allowed in the Gurunagar area on Friday night, after a lapse of five years.

A government delegation led by Acting Navy Commander D S M Wijewickrama will visit Jaffna tomorrow to decide on further relaxing fishing restrictions in the peninsula as a follow up action to the meeting with the Defence Secretary.

Jaffna Government Agent Kandiah Shanmuganathan who took part in the discussions told The Sunday Times the fishermen were positive. "It is true there is a security concern, but on humanitarian grounds it is very important that permission is granted since nearly 30,000 people depend on this and one third of the country's requirement of fish is met by them," Mr. Shanmuganathan said.

In a related development, the ICRC in Jaffna on Friday announced that the A9 road between Jaffna and Omanthai would be kept open from 7 a.m. to 5.30 p.m, instead of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. ICRC spokesman Arjuna Ranawana confirmed the change of time which was intended to facilitate the movement of people.

Among the other main outstanding issues has been the withdrawal of the security forces from various points in the north and east. This would be one of the main issues to be taken up during a meeting between the TNA and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday.

TULF General Secretary, R. Sampanthan told The Sunday Times they would be tabling a list of other measures which were due to be fulfilled under the agreement, including the withdrawal of security forces.

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