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28 Govt. conditions for LTTE offices
By Shimali Senanayake
The government laid down a series of conditions for the LTTE to re-open its political offices in government-controlled areas, compelling the Tigers to indefinitely put off the idea, officials said.

The 28 conditions were communicated to the LTTE Jaffna leader Ilamparidi in a letter from the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission following a separate meeting with the security forces in the area on Tuesday, military officials said on condition of anonymity.

Subsequently, the Secretariat for Co-ordinating the Peace Process also dispatched a communiqué addressed to the SLMM on Monday stating the government's position on the issue.

The main conditions spelt out in the three-page letter included;
* Names of those who will be engaged in political work to be stated
* Identification to be handed upon entry into government-held territory and a fresh ID obtained from the Army
* Where exactly the cadre hoped to engage in political work
* For what period of time

* Contact details including mobile numbers
* Vehicles to be checked upon entry
* Political work to be conducted under supervision
* Other parties to be allowed to engage in political work without hindrance
* No LTTE flags to be hoisted in government-controlled areas
* LTTE flags hoisted inside political offices must not be visible to the outside
* No children should be engaged for political work
* There will be no child recruitment

* No extortion or taxes to be levied
* The cadre will not conduct, obstruct or interfere in Sri Lanka police work
* The cadre will be not clad in uniform, camouflage or military belts
* They will not carry arms

* The cadre will conduct themselves according to laws/restrictions in government-controlled territory
* Premises of political offices will be subject to searches
* Maintain security of their officers, outside a 100 metre range from the premises

On Wednesday, a day after the scheduled opening was called off, LTTE's political wing head S.P. Thamilselvan charged that the conditions violated the spirit of the Geneva agreement reached last month.

"We reject the concept of anybody laying down conditions for our members to do political work among our people. The understanding reached at the Geneva talks is being totally nullified by this stance of the Sri Lankan government. If the noble goals of the Geneva talks such as the peace dividend, normalcy and confidence-building are to become a reality, then we are afraid that this posturing by the government and the military is not going to be a step in the right direction," .Thamilselvan was quoted as saying on the Tigers' peace secretariat website.

Meanwhile Sri Lanka's Army commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka said the conditions were set to prevent the LTTE from abusing the tenets of the ceasefire agreement, which he said were flawed.

“One of the weakest areas of the agreement is allowing the LTTE to do political work in government areas," Fonseka told The Sunday Times on the sidelines of re-launching the Army website on Friday.

The ceasefire agreement allows the Tigers to engage in political work but there is no mention of setting up offices under the February 2002 truce agreement. Similarly, it permits the travel of unarmed rebels in government-held areas to engage in political activities.

Tiger request for airlift turned down
The government has turned down a request from the LTTE for air transport between the north and east, senior military and government officials said.
In a letter to the ceasefire monitors, the government said it was not possible to provide them with helicopter transport on Friday March 24.

The LTTE had made the request through Norwegian peace brokers and wanted its cadre to be transported from Kiliniochchi to Batticaloa and Trincomalee. "Defense authorities have informed that air transport cannot be granted at this moment," the government said in a brief letter to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission.

The Tigers were duly informed on Thursday.
Transport for the Tigers is not stipulated under the February 2002 ceasefire agreement but the former UNF government provided air movement as a confidence-building measure between the parties.

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