SLMM reports that these criminal elements pose a serious threat to the peace process and should be disarmed, but has not identified them. According to the SLMM, no evidence linking either the Navy or the LTTE to the attack has been found. The Tigers and the Sri Lankan Navy have denied involvement in the attack at sea.
The SLMM also says it is not pointing at any specific political parties or groups in Sri Lanka. Observers say there is no other group in the island, other than the Sri Lankan Navy and the LTTE, capable of launching such an attack. Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunge has criticized the decision of the SLMM.
In early April letters to the Navy commander Daya Sandagiri and the chief of the ceasefire monitors Maj. Gen. Tryggve Tellefson, the President accused the SLMM of failing to conduct an impartial enquiry and attempting to equate the LTTE with the sovereign state of Sri Lanka. She alleges that there is much evidence to raise suspicion against the LTTE. The SLMM has always emphasized the need for balance of the two opposing forces for the success of the peace process.
Fishermen in Mullaitivu are afraid to go fishing at sea because of threats by the Sri Lankan Navy. Clashes between the Navy and the Sea Tigers have made the area even more hazardous. The Navy claim they are engaged in Operation Waruna Kirana (Coloured Rays) to protect Sri Lankan territory and have increased naval patrols. Fishermen say their inability to go fishing has resulted in the rise in prices of sea food.
According to reports, an internal naval enquiry has found no evidence of a LTTE attack on the Sri Lankan ship Lanka Muditha. Accusations had been made that on 31 March, the Sea Tigers launched an assault on Lanka Muditha, which was carrying 1,700 soldiers.
