South's opposition adds legitimacy to Tamil struggle- Elilan

[TamilNet, Sunday, 12 June 2005, 14:57 GMT]
"The hostile opposition shown by Sinhala nationalist movements, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) to derail the proposed joint mechanism aimed at helping people devastated by tsunami, has clearly demonstrated to the international community the moral foundation of the Tamil liberation struggle and has brought to focus the urgent need to satisfy aspirations of the Tamil speaking people in their traditional homeland in northeast," said Mr.S.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the LTTE Saturday.

Elilan made this observation when addressing a meeting, following the opening of a new office building of the Social Economic Development Bank (SEDB), Trincomalee branch located in Kadatkaraichenai in the Muttur east, sources said.

Mr.Elilan said although the proposed Joint mechanism was intended to facilitate the rehabilitation and reconstruction of tsunami affected coastal areas in the northeast province, the JVP and JHU have been vehemently opposing the proposal saying that the JM assists the LTTE in its secession project. "There is no justification for this," said Mr.Elilan.

"Since the signing of the Ceasefire Agreement the LTTE has shown its flexibility in taking the peace process forward to find a just and fair political solution to the Tamil national question. We accepted to base our talks on federal concept. Thereafter we submitted a proposal to establish an Interim Self Government Authority (ISGA) in the northeast to rehabilitate and reconstruct the war-destroyed province, until a final political solution is reached. But Sri Lanka Government has been stifled into inaction and has made little progress towards promoting peace.

"As memories of the devastation of war recede, the ultra-nationalists have begun to agitate against any agreement that recognizes legitimate rights of Tamils. We have come a full circle; the South is again raising the spectre of war. This places the burden on the international community, and the donors to find alternate mechanisms to help those affected by tsunami and war, bypassing the Sri Lanka Government which is frozen into inaction by extreme chauvinists," said Mr.Elilan.