Colombo: Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga on October 2 demanded that the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) be asked to disarm first before it is allowed to join any interim administration for the North and East and questioned the idea of creating a "joint task force" to review high security zones there.

"If they are really committed to peace and a democratic process, they do not need any weapons in their hands. It is untenable and unacceptable in a democracy for a party to be armed while being in administration," Presidential spokesman Harim Peiris told reporters in Colombo.

In a related development, Kumaratunga wrote to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe expressing unease over the agreement in the recent first round of talks in Thailand to set up a joint task force to review the location of high security zones in the North East and coordinate rehabilitation work.

The task force will comprise representatives of the government and the LTTE and will be jointly responsible for reviewing security arrangements and handling matters related to the rehabilitation and resettlement of people displaced by the 19-year-long civil war.

She cautioned him on the "serious implications for national security" arising from any step to drastically alter the existing high security zones.

Welcoming the commencement of direct talks between the government and the LTTE, Peiris said Kumaratunga wanted the next round of talks to go beyond issues of rehabilitation and de-mining, and focus more on decommissioning the LTTE weaponry.

PTI