The Sihala Urumaya yesterday asked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Defence Minister Tilak Marapana why they still haven’t declared that the LTTE won’t be permitted to maintain their own army in any future power-sharing arrangement.

"We demand the government to declare publicly their stand on this issue," a SU statement said.

The nationalist party has formed the query based on a special report issued in December by Lt. Gen. Satish Nambiar, former Indian chief-of-staff, in which recommends that the premier and defence minister dispel rumours that the LTTE will be permitted to have its own army.

Nambiar’s report had been issued after a visit in December, conducted on the government’s invitation. Among the topics he addressed was the High Security Zones and the possibilities of absorbing the LTTE to the regular armed forces.

Nambiar says in his observations that the time was not appropriate to absorb the LTTE into the regular armed forces and that it should be decided later in the peace process.

"Three weeks have lapsed since he proposed to the government that they announce they had no intention of allowing a separate LTTE army," SU says. "Neither the prime minister nor the defence minister has made a public announcement denying it."

The controversy of a separate LTTE army occurred after Bradman Weerakoon, secretary to the prime minister, reportedly told a member of the European parliament that the government would accept a separate LTTE army in the country.

SU alleges that the government’s failure to make a public announcement denying Weerakoon’s statement proved that PM seconded it.