¡¡COLOMBO, March 11 (Xinhuanet) -- The Sri Lankan government said here Saturday that fishing restrictions imposed for fishermen along the northern coast has been lifted.

    The Defense Ministry's operational headquarters in a release said that President Mahinda Rajapakse had ordered the lifting of restrictions following representations made to him on behalf of the affected fishermen.

    The release said that Rajapakse had also considered a report bythe Sri Lankan Navy on the matter.

    The northern fishermen were not allowed to function in the northern coast during the height of the separatist armed conflict with the Tamil Tiger rebels.

    However, with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the government entering the Norwegian backed cease-fire in February 2002, the fishing ban was lifted.

    The restrictions came to be imposed back again during the upsurge of violence during December and January period as the Tiger rebels attacked the troops taking cover behind fishermen, the ministry said.

    The president's decision to lift the restrictions was also due to the current non-violent situation prevailing after the Geneva round of talks in February.

    The violence has ceased since the two sides met in Geneva with a pledge to go for a second round of talks in April. Enditem