Sri Lanka weapons handover begins

The ceasefire has raised hopes for peace

The de-commissioning of weapons in line with a Norwegian-brokered ceasefire has begun in Sri Lanka.

A former Tamil militant group, the Democratic People's Liberation Front (DPLF), has started returning its weapons to government forces ahead of a deadline to disarm paramilitary groups.

Meanwhile at least four people were killed and 20 injured in an explosion at an election rally on the edge of Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo, Reuters news agency reported.

Norway is mediating between the two sides

Police and party officials said the explosion went off at a rally of the ruling United National Party (UNP) ahead of local government elections on 20 March.

"There are four dead and 20 people were injured. It was a grenade," said Lands Minister Rajitha Senaratne.

Peace moves

The elections will be the first test of the UNP's popularity since it won parliamentary elections in December.

The party has been pressing ahead with a peace process with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe signing a ceasefire with Tamil Tiger rebels fighting for a separate Tamil state last month.

The handover of the first weapons took place without any fanfare and the Defence Ministry reported the event in its daily press release almost suggesting it was a routine matter.

However, the BBC's Amal Jayasinghe in Colombo says the surrender of 28 automatic assault rifles by the former guerrilla group-turned-political-party is a key development in the implementation of the ceasefire.

No surrender

All paramilitary groups must be disarmed within a month of the truce which officially got underway almost two weeks ago.

The DPLF described their action as a return of weapons rather than a surrender of arms to government forces with whom they had co-operated in fighting against the Tamil Tiger rebels.

The group's leader Dharmalingam Sidharthan says they will return more weapons in other areas of the north-east of the island.

He says he expects government forces to ensure the safety and security of his members.

Assassination fears

Our correspondent says the DPLF move puts pressure on other Tamil groups to fall in line with the deadline for de-commissioning weapons in the hands of paramilitary groups.

Scandinavian truce monitors have already begun their preliminary work and the government hopes that initial talks with Tiger rebels could open within about two and a half months when the truce is set to be fully implemented.

The truce allows Tiger rebels to enter into government-held areas so long as they are unarmed and out of uniform.

But Tamil parties have expressed fears that they may fall victim to assassination and hit-and-run attacks as in the past, the Tigers have tried to eliminate any rivals.