by Shamindra Ferdinando
The LTTE brought life in Batticaloa district to a standstill yesterday in protest against what they described as the government’s failure to fully implement the cease-fire agreement reached an year ago, as the government marked the first anniversary of the pact with a series of events.

The main ceremony took place at the Independence Square with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe lighting a large oil lamp. Scores of ministers, MPs and a large number of supporters took part in the ceremony.

People in Batticaloa district were ordered to stay indoors, sources in the east said, adding that yesterday’s hartal, the second within this week paralysed civilian life. "We were asked not to engage in any of the planned activities," an official said, adding that they have no option but to comply with the Tiger directive.

"The Batticaloa town was deserted," he said adding that public transport was crippled as the Tigers underscored their power in the district. Stones were hurled at a police vehicle at Akkaraipattu while tyres were set on fire at several places. According to reports from the north-east, Batticaloa considered the stronghold of Karuna, a member of the Tiger negotiating team, appeared to have been the worst affected.

In Jaffna people experienced a general shutdown in the morning. People kept indoors in the morning as shops remained closed and transport services were crippled. The LTTE also announced that a token hunger strike will be held opposite the Nallur Kandasy kovil today (23) to press on with their campaign to force the government to implement the truce agreement.

The government and some foreign-funded NGOs put up posters in Colombo and major towns in the south to announce the first anniversary. Religious ceremonies were held in temples, kovils and churches to mark the day and people living in government-administered areas of the north-east were also forced to observe the day of protest. The sources described yesterday’s protest as similar to the one observed on independence day in the north-east where the Tigers prevented public participation.

Police held a series of events in Colombo to mark the day as troops and police remained on a heightened state of alert in the north-east in view of the Tiger-inspired protests.

The TULF-led Tamil National Alliance (TNA) too has endorsed the Tiger stance. At a meeting held at the Jaffna District Divisional Secretariat on Friday the government was accused of failing to implement the agreement in a way beneficial to Tamils of the north and east. TNA MP M. K. Sivajilingham explained that an year after the agreement people continued to suffer in refugee camps as they were unable to return to their villages.

However the LTTE was not successful in the neighbouring Trincomalee district or Vavuniya where people ignored the Tiger directive. A senior security forces official based in the east pointed out that the Tigers’ so-called anti-MoU protests failed in Trincomalee. In Vavuniya Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims held a joint procession in support of the peace process and to mark the first anniversary of the truce agreement.

A security forces officer expressed disbelief that Tigers disrupted Saturday’s programme. "They should have taken part in ceremonies," he said. "It was ridiculous to protest knowing what they have achieved during this period," he said, claiming that the Tigers were trying to exert pressure on the government to gain further concessions.

An year after the government and the Tigers reached a cease-fire agreement, a stretch on the Jaffna-Kandy A9 road still remains closed for public transport.

They have not allowed both state-owned and private buses to operate direct buses to Jaffna. "The stretch between Omanthai and Muhamalai remains closed for us," a private bus source said yesterday and the Tigers continue to charge Rs. 150 each from a passenger to travel between Omanthai and Muhamalai.

Although the truce monitors have declared it as a violation of the February 22 agreement, the Tigers have ignored their ruling. As the parties to the agreement continued to haggle over modalities relating to public transport, the Omanthai-Muhamalai stretch remained taboo for police and security forces. Under the agreement troops and police have unrestricted access to the A9 road and to resume overland troop convoys to and from the Jaffna peninsula. Troops continued to depend on erratic but costly air and sea transport.

The recent interception of a Prisons Department vehicle carrying a group of prisoners from Jaffna to Anuradhapura has forced the department to suspend further overland movement. A group of armed persons believed to be Tigers freed one of the prisoners after intercepting the vehicle between Mankulam and Kilinochchi.

Tigers also continued with a disputed forced conscription campaign in the north-east with the president’s office recently claiming that Tigers have succeeded in increasing the number of their cadres from 6,000 to 16,000 during the first year. They press on with an illegal tax system while continuing to strengthen their so-called police and judiciary.