Release date: 9 June 2002
Release time: Immediate

SLMM DEPUTY HEAD OF MISSION WRONGLY QUOTED IN DAILY MIRROR

Deputy Head of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, SLMM, Mr. Hagrup Haukland, is wrongly quoted in the Sri Lankan newspaper Daily Mirror, Wednesday 05th June, page 1, as saying that QUOTE: “the [Government’s] new gazette notification on fishing restrictions was not in accordance with the [Ceasefire] agreement.” This is an incorrect quote, hereby officially denied by SLMM and is therefore entirely the Daily Mirror’s responsibility.

Mr. Hagrup Haukland, DHOM of SLMM says that: “I have never read the Sri Lankan government’s Gazette notification on fishing restrictions, and therefore I have certainly not commented on it or it’s relations to the Ceasefire Agreement to the media.” The correct and important part of the Daily mirror’s story is that “several complaints have been received from Tamil fishermen about harassment by Sri Lankan forces and continued maintenance of strict restrictions.” and “…that the complaints by the fishermen were being looked into [by SLMM] though no official complaints had been made by the LTTE.”

The SLMM officially denies the above mentioned wrongful quote in the Daily Mirror, which was spread further on Thursday when Tamilnet.com quoted the Daily Mirror’s story in it’s news report. The SLMM urges all media to exercise good journalistic practice, especially when reporting on sensitive issues regarding the Ceasefire Agreement between the LTTE and the Government of Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, SLMM, monitors the implementation of the Ceasefire Agreement, reached by the Government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, on 22nd february 2002. SLMM has six district offices and local monitoring committees in the Eastern and Northern part of Sri Lanka, two naval monitoring teams based in Jaffna and Trincomalee and Liaison officers to both the LTTE and the Sri Lankan Government. SLMM is an international Nordic mission, consisting of monitors from the countries of Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland and has headquarters in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka.

Released By
SLMM HQ
Colombo

Ref: SLMM HQ/09th June 2002/MED/6001

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Release date: 9 June 2002Release time: Immediate

SLMM DEPUTY HEAD OF MISSION WRONGLY QUOTED IN DAILY MIRROR

The Road to Reconciliation, 2010

Disclaimer

Release date: 9 June 2002
Release time: Immediate