S.Lankan Govt, Tamil Rebels Agree to Re-open Main Highway

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, May 08, 2002

S.Lankan Govt, Tamil Rebels Agree to Re-open Main Highway

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The Sri Lankan government and separatist Tamil Tiger rebels have agreed to the re-opening of theKandy-Jaffna A-9 highway as soon as technical details were sorted out, The Island newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The chief of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), Trond Furuhovde, said both sides agreed that the highway should be opened as soon as possible.

Regarding the Tamil rebel claim that they should run the publictransport on the route, he said it was a matter to be sorted out by the government and the rebels as it did not come under the purview of the SLMM.

The Tamil rebels have agreed to allow private bus operators to ply buses on the route, but the private operators want the government also to be allowed a similar facility before they commence operations.

The main highway was reopened ceremonially on April 8 under an indefinite ceasefire agreement signed between the government and the Tamil rebels in February this year. However, the issue of bus transportation is yet to be solved.

Meanwhile, the main opposition People's Alliance and the leftist JVP or the People's Liberation Front and the National Joint Committee have expressed concern over the Tamil rebel bid toclinch an Asian Development Bank (ADB) pledge for funds to developthe A-9 highway.

They were critical of the ADB's decision to discuss the issue with rebel leaders as it would be unprecedented for a leading international lending agency to deal with a rebel group proscribedby several countries including India, the United States and Britain.

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