The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) has called upon the government and the LTTE to speed up provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) reached between the two sides to instil confidence in the process.

"The agreement reached on the MoU with Norwegian facilitation is seen as a necessary step in the long and arduous road towards ultimate peace. Unfortunate incidents in the past during and after a mutually agreed period of cessation of hostilities remind us of the need to address those apprehensions and build confidence among the people in order to ensure that all communities living in the North and East enjoy peace and harmony with dignity, the party said.

The agreed framework aimed at ending hostilities should address the need to create an atmosphere required for all sections of people to engage in their cultural, social, religious and political activities without any inhibitions whatsoever.

In this regard the SLMC wishes to urge the GOSL, LTTE and the Norwegian Government to take immediate steps to set up the monitoring missions envisaged in the MoU and ensure that they begin functioning in order to instill confidence in the process."

The state law and order machinery should play its inalienable role to sustain the momentum towards lasting peace, the statement signed by SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem said.