Vigneswaran killing imperils Peace Talks- Chandrasekaran

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 April 2006, 17:31 GMT]
Leader of Upcountry Peoples Front (UPF), and parliamentarian, Periyasamy Chandrasekaran said in a communique released Saturday that the killing of the President of the Trincomalee District Tamil Peoples' Forum, Mr Vigneswaran, has posed a challenge to the continuation of Peace Talks between the Liberation Tigers and the Government of Sri Lanka.

"The killing of Vigneswaran at the critical juncture when the Cease Fire agreement and the Peace talks are teetering near collapse, has shocked the pro-peace community," Chandrasekaran said.

He added that Sri Lanka's President will be making mockery of Democracy if his government continues to remain silent pretending innocence of the crime.

"Killing of innocent civilians in Sri Lanka Army (SLA) controlled areas have become a regular occurrence from the time Sri Lanka's President assumed power in November. If Mr Rajapakse is genuine in his efforts to seek peace he should urgently assert his power to pre-emptively stop these crimes on civilians," he said.

"The civilian killings increasingly point to the Sri Lanka military and the collaborating paramilitaries as the primary cause for creating an incendiary situation leading to an all out war, despite the cries from chauvanists who accuse the Liberation Tigers," said Chandrasekaran, adding that Mr Rajapakse should make constructive efforts to arrest the political killings if he intends to save Sri Lanka plunging into war.