Sampanthan blames SL state for committing genocide, protests Budget speech

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 November 2008, 13:37 GMT]
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa presented his fourth budget to Parliament on Thursday at 1:00 p.m. while 12 members of the Tamil National Alliance who were present at the Sri Lankan parliament walked out after the parliamentary group leader of the TNA, R.Sampanthan made a statement in the well of the house, condemning the budget by the Rajapaksa government, which allocates a colossal sum of money for committing a genocide on Tamil civilians in the North and East.

Mr. Sampanthan's statement follows:

Statement made by Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (Tamil National Alliance) on the occasion of the presentation in Parliament of the Budget proposals 2009, by the Government of Sri Lanka on 6th November 2008.

As a mark of strong protest against and firm condemnation of the ruthless prosecution of the war by the Sri Lankan State in the North – Eastern territory of Sri Lanka, the areas of historical habitation of the Tamil speaking people, carried out by continuous aerial bombardment, multi barrel rocket fire, and other military attacks in Tamil civilian populated areas, through which war, the Sri Lankan State continues to commit genocide of the Tamil nation, by the extermination of Tamil civilians, and by the destruction and devastation of the Tamil homeland, and by the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Tamil civilians, tantamount to ethnic cleansing, and for the prosecution of which war, the Sri Lankan State seeks to allocate a colossal sum of money under the Budget proposals 2009, the Members of Parliament of the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi ( Tamil National Alliance), will boycott the Budget speech and walk out of the House when the Hon.Minister of Finance commences the presentation of Budget proposals 2009.

R.Sampanthan,
Parliamentary Group Leader
Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi
(Tamil National Alliance)