By Frances Harrison BBC correspondent in Colombo

Sri Lanka's army commander says the military fully supports the current peace process with Tamil Tiger rebels.

Lieutenant General Lionel Balagalle said he expects the status quo to remain until a final political settlement, at which point issues such as rebel disarmament could be discussed.

Asked about the army's failure to vacate public buildings on time in accordance with the cease-fire agreement, General Balagalle said they may not have stuck to the exact timings.

But he stressed that the main thing was there had been no confrontations and a permanent cease-fire was holding.

'Advantages'

The rebels want a Tamil homeland

The Sri Lankan army is looking increasingly ceremonial now that there has been no fighting for more than six months.

Speaking at a function to mark the retirement of the chief of defence staff, General Balagalle said if the peace process succeeded there would be tremendous advantages for the army.

He said there were bound to be doubts because of failed attempts to negotiate peace in the past.

But he added that those doubts must now be cast away.

Island visits

General Balagalle said one of the reasons the army had been slow to leave schools and temples was lack of time and money to build new accommodation for soldiers.

The commander denied reports in some of the Tamil media that the military had begun new camps by occupying civilian houses around the town of Chavakachcheri.

He also said he was hopeful the dispute over the Tamil Tigers' right to visit the islands off Jaffna for political work would be resolved soon.

General Balagalle said he expected access to Mandaitivu, the sea entrance to Jaffna, to be most heavily restricted, but Kayts and other islands would be easier to visit.

He also said he thought the rebels would be allowed to visit the islands between 0600 and 1800 under the supervision of international monitors.