2ND LEAD

LTTE officials dismiss conflicting press reports

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 November 2006, 07:01 GMT]
Director of LTTE's Peace Secretariat S. Puleedevan and Military Spokesman of the LTTE, Irasaiah Ilanthirayan Thursday jointly dismissed press reports that cited SLMM officials as saying that the Tigers had conveyed a message to Colombo following the policy address by the LTTE leader. "Our National Leader, in his policy address, has clearly explained everything that was needed to be conveyed to Colombo," Mr. Ilanthirayan said. The LTTE leader, Mr. Velupillai Pirapaharan, in his policy address on Heroes' Day had accused Colombo for having conducted the funeral rites of the Ceasefire Agreement without tearing it apart.

"The Rajapakse regime, by openly advocating attacks on our positions, has effectively buried the CFA," Mr. Pirapaharan was quoted in the official English rendition provided by the Tigers.

"The Rajapakse regime hopes to decide the fate of the Tamil nation using its military power. It wants to occupy the Tamil land and then force an unacceptable solution on the Tamils. Due to this strategy of the Rajapakse regime, the CFA has become defunct," the LTTE leader had said on 27 November.

On 28 November, the day after LTTE leader's policy address, Head of the Crisis Response Unit of the Iceland Ministry of Foreign affairs, Anna Johannsdottir, was on a courtesy visit to Kilinochchi, accompanied by Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), Jon Oskar Solnes, and Spokesperson of the SLMM, Thofinur Omarson.

The SLMM officials who accompanied the visiting Icelandic official, had asked LTTE Political Head S.P.Thamilchelvan whether there were any message to be conveyed to Colombo.

"Our political head responded by stating that everything that was needed to be conveyed, has been clearly expressed in our National Leader's policy address," Mr. Puleedevan clarified.

LTTE Political Head and the Head of Tamil Eelam Police, B. Nadesan, were accompanied by both Ilanthirayan and Puleedevan in the meeting with Ms. Anna Johannsdottir.

In the meantime, Norwegian Special Envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer has arrived in Sri Lanka.

Mr. Jon-Hanssen Bauer would be meeting the LTTE Political Head S.P. Thamilchelvan early next week.

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