Charles Anthony remembered

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 16 July 2002, 18:11 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers are sincerely implementing the ceasefire agreement with the Sri Lanka government, Mr. A. Ruban, the head of the LTTE's political wing in Trincomalee said Tuesday. "We will not allow the Tamils to be blamed for the derailment of peace process,î" he said. Mr. Ruban was speaking at the nineteenth annual commemoration of the death of Lieutenant Seelan (Charles Anthony) held Monday evening in the Trincomalee Sri Koneswara Hindu College's grounds.

Lieutenant Seelan was the first military commander of the LTTE and the first cadre from the Trincomalee district to be killed in the armed struggle. He was an old boy of Trincomalee Sri Koneswara Hindu College

Ms Krishna, head of the women's wing of the LTTE in the Trincomalee district hoisted the Tamil national flag at the event.

A leading Gandhian disciple in Trincomalee Mr. P. Kandiah lit the flame of remembrance ('Eehai Chudar'). The mother of Lieutenant Seelan garlanded the photograph of her son and placed flowers.



Mr. Ruban further said that according to the time schedule stipulated in the cease-fire agreement the Sri Lankan armed forces should withdraw from schools, places of worship and public buildings. However the army is still not prepared to vacate its camps from some schools and places of worship citing flimsy reasons, he said.

Furthermore, the Sri Lankan government is also not being firm in ordering the army to observe the cease-fire agreement, he said.

"We ask the armed forces to withdraw their camps from our schools, our places of worships. We are not asking them to remove their camps from Colombo or any others parts of the country," said Mr. Ruban.