2ND LEAD

LTTE reiterates need for permanent ceasefire

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 April 2009, 17:52 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) Political Division, in a statement issued in Tamil on Monday called the Sri Lankan announcement of restricting military operations for two days as an eyewash to create an impression of engagement on false premises. Condemning the move as a "political drama" aimed at "deceiving the International Community and the Tamil people", the LTTE said the Sri Lanka Army was continuing indiscriminate shelling and gunfire on civilians. The LTTE statement categorically stated that the Tigers were calling for a politically and militarily meaningful ceasefire with humanitarian considerations.

The LTTE seeks an unconditional and permanent ceasefire conducive for peaceful negotiations, the statement issued from Vanni said.

"The ceasefire would be meaningful and constructive with the facilitation of the International Community," the Tiger statement pointed out.

A ceasefire should not be dictated solely on the premises of the Sri Lankan military objectives. On the contrary, it should be based on humanitarian and political objectives, the LTTE said.

Detailing the sufferings of the Tamil people facing the Sri Lankan military onslaught, the LTTE called for an immediate implementation of a such ceasefire.

LTTE's official translation of the text follows:

Media Release
13th April 2009

LTTE emphasizes Permanent Ceasefire

The LTTE has for long been requesting a permanent ceasefire encompassing sensible military and political essence. This, the LTTE still reiterates.

Such a ceasefire should also contain a base for political negotiations. The LTTE desires that that it should also create a conducive climate for a permanent political resolution to the national question of the Tamils in a peaceful way. The LTTE is ready to comply without any conditions to a ceasefire as described above.

But, the Sri Lanka government’s unilateral announcement of a two-day ceasefire, dt.13th and 14th April 2009, is merely an act of hoodwinking. Sri Lanka government is announced this ceasefire to create a scenario as if it was heeding to the request of the international community and also rendering a service to the Tamils trapped in the Sinhala military siege.

We consider this ceasefire announcement of Sri Lanka government as a two-day holiday opportunity availed to its servicemen for Sinhala New year. Although a ceasefire has been announced, yet the Sinhala Forces are continuing to target civilian population with their bombs and guns. The LTTE unequivocally condemns this political swagger aimed at deceiving the world as well as the Tamil people.

The Tamils, trapped by the Sri Lanka’s military siege, and the war waged on them by the Sri Lankan armed Forces, are encountering untold hardships. The fact that the world leaders and the International community are now viewing their suffering with sympathy, is indeed a relief for them.

As a result of Sri Lanka’s embargo on food and medicine, the suffering of our people is unfathomable. To make matters worse, the floods caused by the recent summer-rain, flowing over the drinking-wells, have contaminated them, causing an acute shortage of drinking water in the region.

With people getting killed and wounded daily at the hands of the Sri Lanka military, the casualty figure has now climbed to 300 per day. The government Forces are getting closer to civilian habitation and are emptying their guns on them, causing immense damage. People are living in tarpaulin camps on sandy stretches, with no protective trenches close at hand to seek safety. They inevitably fall victim to the close-range gun attacks.

An immediate ceasefire is sine-qua-non to our people suffering at the hands of the Sinhala Forces as well as natural disaster. The ceasefire should not reflect the Sri Lanka’s military interests as the State desires. Rather, it should possess humanitarian purposes as well as a political goal searching for a permanent resolution to the Tamil national question. In the meanwhile, we wish to point out that a ceasefire under the auspices of the international community alone, will be effective and productive.

Pulikalin Thaham Tamileela Thayaham
Political Division
Liberation Tigers of TamilEelam
Tamileelam

Chronology: