Colombo attempts to force LTTE withdrawal from Peace Talks - Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 April 2006, 14:08 GMT]
Accusing the Sri Lanka Government of imposing impractical conditions as part of a deliberate attempt to force LTTE to withdraw from talks, Head of LTTE’s Political Division, S.P.Thamilchelvan said that recent one-sided actions by some members of the International community have encouraged Sri Lankan state to adopt a hardline stance and Sinhala extremists to unleash violence against Tamil community.

TamilNet: How do you interpret the rigid position adopted by the Government of Sri Lanka prior to the next session of Geneva Talks?

Thamilchelvan: The new conditions the Sri Lanka Government attempting to impose is part of a deliberate attempt to provoke LTTE into withdrawing from the CFA talks. There were unacceptable preconditions for allowing our political cadres into Sri Lanka Army controlled areas to carryout political work. Then, there was no response for the request of travel arrangement of our Eastern Commanders.

Soon after Geneva-I, we expressed the crucial need for our leadership to have close discussions with the eastern commanders prior to next phases of talks. Norwegian facilitators responded that they will work on providing as the customary arrangements. But, Colombo has waited for a month to respond, and at last, when there was only a few days left for the next session of talks, we received unacceptable suggestions.

With the assistance of the facilitators our Commanders have been using air-transport facilities for critically important consultations prior to peace talks in the past. In addition, when necessary, we also used our vessels for sea-transport with the presence of members of the SLMM. However, Sri Lanka Government has now precipitated an unnecessary crisis by refusing to accept these modes of travel.

The mutual trust painstakingly built during the last four years between the two sides is being destroyed by the attitude of the Sri Lanka Government.



TamilNet: Can you comment on the performance of both parties in abiding by the commitments made after and prior to Geneva-1 talks?

Thamilchelvan: After Norwegian Development Minister Mr. Erik Solheim met with our leadership, we agreed on the venue for CFA talks. This renewed hope amongst Tamil people in the implementation of CFA. Violent reactions from the Tamil side ceased.

It did not take many days for the GoSL delegation members to verbally contradict the Geneva statement. Although the Government of Sri Lanka agreed to disarm the armed groups, within three days after the talks, Sri Lanka Army escalated the violence in the east, and two our cadres were killed in Batticaloa. Tamil people began to lose hope. Various harassments by the Sri Lankan forces and paramilitary attacks intensified resulting in the worsened ground situation we see today.

TamilNet: Rajapakse Government appears to have difficulties due to the Sinhala extremists in taking progressive steps towards peace. Can you comment how you view the impact of the extremists on Rajapakse administration?

Thamilchelvan: If Mr Rajapakse is intent on satisfying the extremists then there is no alternative other than war.

The extremist alliance members demand sacking of Norway, limiting the involvement of International Community in the peace process. This aggressive stand will only create conditions for an all out war. If Mr Rajapakse wants sustainable peace he should act with full commitment in implementing the CFA. On the contrary, if Mr Rajapakse demonstrates willingness to consider extremists demands, he cannot hope to take any progressive steps towards peace or implementing the CFA.



TamilNet: If GoSL is acting under the assumption that the LTTE is considerably weakened, what would you like to tell them?

Thamilchelvan: If Colombo assumes that LTTE is in a weakened position, and imposes a war on the Tamils, it will soon realize the true strength of the LTTE. We don’t showcase or issue statements on our combat strength.

TamilNet: How do you view the attempts to disguise paramilitaries in democratic garb in the East?

Thamilchelvan: I consider this as a classic instance exposing the sabotage strategy of the GoSL which has denied the existence of the Tamil paramilitary groups. These paramilitary groups have been committing grave acts of violence against the Tamils. We sincerely believe that the International Community is cognizant of this duplicity.

The agreement made by the GoSL at the last Geneva talks and the pressure exerted by the international countries for disarming the paramilitaries have pushed the GoSL into a difficult situation. GoSL in response has elected to garb these paramilitaries in a democratic mantle. This, however, is not going to prevent them from continuing their violence against the Tamils. I consider this as a deliberate attempt to worsen the already weakened peace process and one which would create a crisis, leading to serious consequences.

TamilNet: There is a strong opinion among the Tamils that recent actions of several members of the international community are biased against the Tigers. What do you feel that the international community should do?

Thamilchelvan: In fact, the Tamils feel that some countries have tacitly approved the hard line attitude adopted by Colombo. Their decisions and activities encourage the Sinhala extremists to commit racially motivated violence. Particularly, the Sinhala extremist violence in Trincomalee came in the wake of Canada proscribing the LTTE. The international community should adopt a non-biased attitude towards the parties engaged in a pursuit of peace if they expect to see genuine progress towards peace.