Sri Lankan cease-fire monitors demand rebels release policemen

European cease-fire monitors on Friday demanded that Tamil Tiger rebels release three Sri Lankan policemen who entered the insurgents' territory while pursuing a suspected British pedophile nearly a month ago. ``They should be released immediately,'' said Helen Olafsdottir, a spokeswoman for the team monitoring the three-year cease-fire agreement between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. ``The LTTE insists on putting the case through their own court but we have been quite clear on this issue from the start, they should have never been apprehended,'' she said. The Sri Lankan government has also lodged a protest over the detention of the policemen, who were seized Sept. 9.

The government asked Norwegian Ambassador Hans Brattskar to raise the issue at a meeting with the rebels on Thursday, but the guerrillas remained intransigent, a government official said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak publicly. Brattskar informed the government on Friday about the rebels' position during talks with Jayantha Dhanapala, the top official handling the peace process. Colombo has accused the rebels of blocking the government's efforts to protect children. Two female and three male police officers, two Catholic priests and a child-rights investigator were detained by the rebels when they entered an area near Mannar, about 220 kilometers (135 miles) north of Colombo in pursuit of a suspected British pedophile. All except for the three male police officers were released. Although the government controls Mannar, the rebels control nearby areas, where they run their own administration, including a justice system. The policemen's case is scheduled to be taken up in a Tiger court on Oct. 11. The 51-year-old suspected pedophile later surrendered to police in the capital, Colombo. ``Criminals cannot be allowed to slip out of areas and get away from law and order so it calls inevitably for cooperation between the parties on criminal issues,'' Olafsdottir said, ``Both sides have to be practical regarding such issues.'' The monitors have accused the rebels of violating an already fragile truce by detaining the policemen.