COLOMBO, Sept 17, Reuter: Indian troops will provide security during elections in November to a semiautonomous provincial council in the north and east Sri Lanka, the Indian High Commissioner said on Saturday.
Jyotindra Nath Dixit told reporters the elections would probably be held in the first half of November.
The election and establishment of the council, which will enable minority Tamils to run their own affairs, are stipulated in an Indian Sri Lankan pact to end a five year old guerrilla war waged by Tamils seeking a separate state.
Dixit spoke after a one day visit to the northern city of Jaffna, He urged Tamil residents of the town to persuade the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the largest guerrilla group, to lay down their weapons, accept the pact and join the democratic process.
He said the Tigers had not responded to a five day ceasefire implemented from Thursday by about 52,000 Indian troops sent to the north and east to enforce the pact.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 23, 1988
