<b>Sri Lanka Military Says to Meet Truce Pledges</b>

Juliana Liu - World - Reuters

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka is committed to pulling its troops out of temples and schools used as barracks in the war-torn north and east, as promised in a truce agreement with separatist rebels, the island's defense minister said on Friday.

Abandoning civilian buildings in conflict zones by the August 2 deadline would remove a major hurdle in the way of peace talks between the government Tamil Tiger guerrillas to end nearly 20 years of war, Defense Minister Tilak Marapana told Reuters.

"I'm very confident of moving out of temples and schools," the 59-year-old career lawyer said as he chain-smoked a pack of cigarettes.

"The evacuation of those places is only symbolic. The important thing is what is going to follow," he said.

The pullout, spelt out in a Norwegian-brokered cease-fire signed in February, shows the government is serious about finding a solution to religious and ethnic problems at the heart of a war that has killed about 64,000 people, he said.

Marapana said a lack of time and money to build new camps to house about 5,000 soldiers had delayed the planned evacuations, a precondition for the first direct peace talks in seven years.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), battling since 1983 for an ethnic minority Tamil state, told Reuters on Tuesday the next move in a five-month-old peace bid was for the military to enforce the troop moves.

The government has also lifted fishing restrictions as specified under the truce agreement to help return normalcy to war-afflicted areas dominated by Tamils, Marapana said.

"At the moment there are no complaints that fishermen are hindered in their activity," he said.

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Marapana applauded the restraint shown by LTTE cadres after a Sri Lankan soldier crossed into rebel-held territory and opening fire on a group of Tigers, wounding two female cadres.

"It was an isolated incident," Marapana said. "I think it's very clear the soldier has strayed."

The soldier, believed to be suffering personal problems, was shot dead by the LTTE.

The truce had been breached twice before in confrontations between the Sri Lankan navy and Sea Tigers, the rebel naval arm.

But both sides have stayed with the cease-fire, which has eased security fears for Sri Lankans and permitted greater freedom of movement.

Marapana said despite the cease-fire, he did not see any huge savings yet for the military budget, which equals more than five percent of gross domestic product.

"We have no need to buy any heavy equipment right at this moment, but of course we are paying for previous purchases," he said.

Marapana said the military also continued its normal recruitment drives and was prepared for a possible future war.

"We will be doing what we were doing earlier," he said. "To observe the memorandum of understanding to the letter, not to be provoked by minor incidents, but at the same time not to lower our guard."

The initial animosity between the two sides has been reduced to a very large extent, he said.

"We know they are training and stockpiling. That is understandable," he said.

"They wouldn't want to be caught napping and be on the receiving end."

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