COLOMBO, Dec 27: Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels on Friday accused Scandinavian truce monitors of siding with government forces to undermine a Norwegian-backed peace bid.

The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) lambasted the independent panel monitoring the nascent truce for its “comments and value judgments” on the security situation in the embattled Jaffna peninsula.

The LTTE, in its most strongly-worded statement since the start of the bilateral truce in February, said it could not accept the monitors’ contention that one-sided de-escalation could undermine the entire peace process.

The Scandinavian truce monitors of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) expressed their disagreement Thursday with rebel demands for the military to unconditionally vacate populated areas.

The Tigers want the army to leave its camps in war-torn areas as a “humanitarian” issue.

SLMM chief Trond Furuhovde, a Norwegian army general, agreed with the Sri Lankan army that such moves could only be made in tandem with some disarmament by the rebels.

“In order to build peace the forces on both sides must be kept stable,” Furuhovde said. “What applies to the LTTE in this context should also apply for the government.”

The Tigers have insisted that de-commissioning of their heavy weapons and disarming cadres was non-negotiable at present.

“In Jaffna, simply dismantling High Security Zones for resettlement and handing over land for cultivation will decrease both security and combat potential of the government forces,” Furuhovde said.

He said LTTE representatives had argued that maintaining their military strength was vital if they are to be successful in negotiations.

But the general said the balance of forces was the basis of the truce between the rebels and the government, which took effect last Christmas and was made formal with Norwegian mediation in February.

“Disturbing that balance is disturbing the ceasefire,” Furuhovde said. “An unrealistic normalization programme in the name of progress and development should not be allowed to come into force at the expense of security, as this could undermine the building of permanent peace.”

LTTE’s chief peace negotiator Anton Balasingham, in a letter to Furuhovde that was released to reporters, said the army was using civilians near their camps as “human shields”.

“We regret to say that the hardline position of the Jaffna army commander (general Sarath Fonseka) and your assessment legitimising High Security Zones have rendered the sub-committee on de-escalation and normalcy as irrelevant and meaningless,” Balasingham said in his letter.—AFP