tamilweek.com

By D.B.S. Jeyaraj

The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission will suspend all activity relating to naval monitoring with effect from May 14 th 2006 until further notice, it was announced yesterday.

SLMM chief Ulf Henricsson as well as its acting spokesperson Robert Nilffom told different sections of the media that naval monitoring had ceased and that it was only a temporary feature.

“Sea monitoring activities have temporary been stopped,”reported a website quoting Henricsson.The SLMM Chief, however, said suspension is temporary.

“We are adjusting ourselves and hope to come up with new safety regulations and some solutions hopefully by next week,” he said.

Nilffom told a newspaper that ” they were in the process of assessing the situation, particularly the risks involved and counter measures.” He emphasized that this would be temporary.

Consequent to this decision the Sri Lanka Navy’s Northern command was informed by the Jaffna based SLMM that it could not provide naval escort to the personnel carrier ship ” MV Pearl Cruise II” on its return to Trincomalee.

The navy had contacted the SLMM to finalise travel arrangements for the vessel to start out from Kankesanthurai with Scandinavian monitors aboard on its return journey to Trincomalee when they were informed of changed circumstances.

The ship with 710 security personnnel and one SLMM monitor on board was attacked by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on May 11th off the Vadamaratchy East coast in Jaffna peninsula. The ship after escaping to Indian waters had returned to KKS in the early hours of May 12th.

The SLMM decision to suspend sea monitoring was taken as a result of the earlier LTTE attack. The primary consideration it is learnt was the safety of SLMM members accompanying Sri Lankan naval ships.

The lives of two naval monitors were endangered due to the attack . One was Ilkka Haplina , head of the Trncomalee SLMM division who was on the “Pearl Cruise II”. The other was Lars Bleymann , deputy head of the SLMM Jaffna division who was on the “P 421″ Dvora fast attack craft providing security to the troop carrier.

Both vessels were flying the SLMM flag in addition to the Lankan flag to indicate that truce monitors were aboard. The SLMM was deeply troubled when the attack endangering the lives of monitors began.

Ms Helen Olafsdottir, spokesperson of the monitoring mission told media that they (SLMM) contacted the Kilinochchi-based LTTE leadership immediately after the Sea Tigers triggered the clash off the Mullaitivu coast.

“We urged them to cease the offensive and reminded them of the presence of Nordic naval monitors on board two vessels,” she said. “They asked us to get them out.”

Apart from the monitors’ safety the suspension of naval monitoring would also provide a respite for the SLMM to finalise certain decisions regarding the future.

Chief among them is the “problem” caused by the LTTE stance on naval monitoring. LTTE political commissar Suppiah Paramu Thamilselvan in a meeting with SLMM chief Ulf Henricsson on May 12th at Kilinochchi was critical of the monitors over this issue.

The LTTE objected strongly to the SLMM position that the tigers had no rights to the sea and urged the monitors to revise this stance. The SLMM chief was asked to provide the basis on which this decision was made. The tigers also said that they would be travelling in the waters adjacent to the lands under their control regardless of any position taken by the SLMM.

Thamilselvan also charged that the SLMM was adopting double standards. “While SLMM monitors were accompanying the navy on naval vessels they were not doing so with LTTE sea tiger vessels” he said. “If the SLMM was not prepared to get aboard tiger boats then they should not get aboard navy ships too” Thamilselvan pointed out.

He said that the navy ships had been allowed to go “free” on Msy 11th only because monitors were on them. Thamilselvan said that the navy was using the SLMM as human shields while travelling in North – Eastern seas.Leniency on this count would not be shown next time he warned.

The tiger political chief had written three letters earlier to the SLMM demanding that monitors should not accompany the navy aboard naval vessels. Urging that the SLMM abide by this demand in the future Thamilselvan said this was the “final warning” on the issue.

The SLMM chief told Thamilselvan that he would get back to him after discussing with Norwegian facilitators and representatives of the SLMM. Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland are the five member nations of the SLMM.

It is learnt that all member countries of the SLMM are worried about the safety of their nationals in the aftermath of the “pearl Cruise” incident. Two of them in particular were mooting a full withdrawal from the SLMM but have now agreed to abide by decisions to be finalised in due course.

It is learnt that consultations between the monitors and facilitators will be held in Colombo and Oslo about the SLMM’s future course. A set of regulations are to be formulated on the question of naval monitoring. These new rules and procedures will be submitted to the Government of Sri Lanka as well as the tigers for approval and commitment to adhere to them.

If such consent is not forthcoming naval monitoring will remain suspended while the SLMM reviews the whole question of monitoring.

Meanwhile the SLMM has indicated to sections of the media that they are notin agreement with the LTTE position on naval monitoring and related issues. The “diplomatic silence” by Henricsson in the meeting with Thamilselvan cannot be construed as “acceptance” of the LTTE viewpoint said diplomatic sources.

The SLMM also stands by its stern condemnation of the LTTE for the sea attack and holds the tigers responsible pointed out these sources. [transCurrents.com]

Related:

- SLMM Chief on urgent trip to meet LTTE in Kilinochchi

- SLMM Chief Henricsson gets “earful” from Thamilselvan

- Indian help sought to escort ‘Pearl Cruiser’ safely to KKS

Contact DBS Jeyaraj : djeyaraj2005@yahoo.com