Tigers warn paramilitary groups

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 September 1999, 07:14 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers yesterday called on the cadres and supporters of the Tamil paramilitary groups operating alongside the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) to desist from actions "detrimental to the Tamil people"

The LTTE has called out to the paramilitary group members in a pamphlet, to give up their present activities and either return to civilian lives or to join the LTTE.

Titled "Are you assisting the destruction of our community?" the leaflet warns that those who continue would be targeted.

The LTTE has offered similar amnesties in the past, which have caused large numbers of cadres from the paramilitary groups to defect to the Tigers, according to Sri Lankan defence analysts.

The killing of senior paramilitary commanders, such as Razeek of the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) and Manikkadasan of the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) has contributed to the decline in morale amongst the groups, they say.