2nd Lead (Adds corrections)

US military assistance weakening peace process -TNA

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 July 2004, 15:52 GMT]
Jaffna district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians told Ms Cody Taylor, political officer of the United States (US) embassy, that the progress made during the peace talks in affording equal status to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) with the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) has been weakened by the military training and assistance given by the U.S. Government to the Sri Lanka armed forces. Ms Taylor arrived in Jaffna Friday afternoon and met with the TNA parliamentarians at the office of the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) in Jaffna town, sources in Jaffna said.

TNA parliamentarians Messrs: Mavai Senathirajah, M.K.Sivajilingam, S.Gajendran, N.Raviraj, M.K.Eelaventhan, S.Sivanesan and Ms Padmini Sithamparanathan participated in the talks, TNA sources said.

"LTTE has genuinely committed itself for the success of current peace talks. But the new government has been dragging its feet in resuming the peace talks. It is the duty of the US government to exert diplomatic pressure on the GOSL in this regard," the TNA delegation pointed out to the visiting US political officer, TNA sources said.

Ms Cody Taylor later met with Mr.T.Panchalingam, senior assistant secretary and Jaffna district branch secretary of the Ceylon Tamil Teachers' Union (CTTU). Mr.Panchalingam briefed her about the setback in the education in Jaffna district due to the two decade-old war.

He pointed out that several schools located in the high security zone in the peninsula have been undergoing difficulties in conducting classes, CTTU sources said.

Representatives of the Jaffna District Internally Displaced Persons' Association and Village level Workers Association also met with the US official and explained their difficulties in running their day-to-day lives, sources said.