Sri Lankans, Rebels Fight Over Belts
Posted on: Wednesday, 12 February 2003, 06:00 CST
Sri Lankans, Rebels Fight Over Belts
source: Associated Press Strange News
By JOE ARYARATNAM, Associated Press Writer
JAFFNA, Sri Lanka - Four male government soldiers and three female Tamil Tiger rebels had a fistfight Wednesday after they disagreed whether the women fighters should be allowed to wear belts to keep their pants up.
Though the government and insurgents agreed to a truce in February last year, a simmering dispute over women's belts has intensified recently and threatens to buckle the road to peace.
The army has banned female guerrilla fighters from wearing belts while inside military-controlled territory, saying that belts identify the women as rebels and can hold small arms such as pistols.
This, the authorities say, contravenes the terms of their cease-fire which allows insurgents into government areas but prohibits them from wearing uniforms or carry weapons.
Initially, the army banned the use of black belts, the color most female rebels use, but have since extended the ban to belts of all colors.
Angered by the ban, the top female Tiger commander recently lodged a complaint with European cease-fire monitors.
Two women rebels were injured in Tuesday's fight at a military check point just south of the town of Jaffna, a military official said on condition of anonymity. Witnesses said it was not clear who punched first.
Outraged by the fight, about 200 Tamil residents protested the soldiers' actions soon after the scuffle broke up. Villagers reported tension was quite high in the region after the incident.
The Tamil rebels fought for an independent homeland for 19 years until agreeing to the truce last year. About 65,000 people were killed in that time.
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Copyright © 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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