by Prasad Gunawardene

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Wednesday told the Cabinet of Ministers that the government must pursue the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the LTTE till talks begin despite several violations committed by the LTTE, authoritative sources told The Island last night.

The Prime Minister, who chaired the meeting at the cabinet office in the absence of President Chandrika Kumaratunga, pointed out that when the LTTE had violated the MoU in the seas and air, troops had engaged them.

Mr. Wickremesinghe had stressed that if and when such violations are committed by the LTTE, necessary action would be taken and the monitoring mission would be kept informed.

The Government-LTTE MoU was the topic of discussion at last night’s cabinet meeting as it has been listed for debate in Parliament by the Opposition as an adjournment motion. The Prime Minister pointed out to his ministers that despite violations by the LTTE, people were freely travelling to the north and east. Violations have been notified to the monitoring mission. He told the ministers to place the facts before the Opposition in Parliament today during the debate and to stress the necessity to continue the ceasefire till talks begin in Thailand on substantive issues.

The Prime Minister also expressed satisfaction over the responsible role played by security forces and government in upholding the MoU without violations as it has made it possible to keep the international opinion on the side of the government.

The latest warning by the US to the LTTE to halt illegal import of arms, too, had been discussed at yesterday’s meeting. It was decided to list a number of senior ministers to speak on behalf of the government today in Parliament.