Pro-Peace, United Sinhala leadership unlikely to emerge soon - Balakumaran

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 January 2004, 00:06 GMT]
"Our expectations of resuming peace talks with the Government of Sri Lanka under a united leadership with clear authority to command Sri Lanka's security forces are fast receding," said V.Balakumaran, a senior member of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, speaking at the Kumar Ponnambalam commemoration ceremony held at the Kailasapathy Hall of Jaffna Campus Monday, local media in Jaffna reported.

More excerpts from Balakumaran's speech follow:

"Duplicitous actions of the past Sinhala governments have denied the Tamil people their fundamental rights, and oppression of our people by the State has continued. Now Tamil people are united under a strong leadership and no power can divide or suppress the Tamil people anymore.

"Although majority of Sinhala people want their politicians to unite to resolve the debilitating political crisis, extremist JVP and Sinhala Urumaya will continue to impede progress towards reconciliation among Sinhala leaders. More alarming is the direction Sinhala polity is moving where major parties, UNP or SLFP, need support from extremist parties to form coalition governments.

"History of Tamils is written in blood. The time is near when we will reap the fruits of our struggle. The new Jaffna Commander has plans to help the people in Jaffna. There are plenty of things the Commander can do. He can remove the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers who are standing idle in street corners. The commander can put and end to the harassment of civilians by the SLA soldiers.

"While attacks on Tamils have decreased, racists are turning their anger on the more vulnerable Christian minorities. Damaged churches stand as testimony to potential dangers to civil society from racial elements.

"While we commemorate Kumar Ponnambalam's death anniversary, we should remember him as a revolutionary political leader who fought for human justice with sincere determination and commitment. He serves as an illustrious model for other Tamil politicians to follow."