PA not capable of resolving conflict -Tamil coalition

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 January 2001, 07:32 GMT]
"Tamil parties firmly believe that Peoples Alliance (PA) Government is not capable of bringing the ethnic conflict to an end. That is why we have formed a coalition to urge the international community to actively join the peace efforts by pressuring the Sri Lankan Government to stop fighting and start negotiations with the Liberation Tigers," said the representatives of Tamil parties during a meeting with the Swedish Ambassador held in Colombo on Wednesday.

The Swedish Charge d'affaires of the South Asian region also attended the meeting.

The members of moderate Tamil parties further said:

"Some Tamil parties which were involved in armed resistance during the early stages of struggle, trusted the promises of Governments in power and gave up their arms and joined the democratic stream. Past governments broke all promises and failed to respect the fundamental rights of Tamil people. We have lost all trust in SriLanka's democratic politics.

"Sri Lankan government has been forcefully telling the foreign governments that the LTTE is a terrorist organization and that it is difficult to trust the LTTE. LTTE's decision to extend the unilateral ceasefire for an additional month is a reflection of LTTE's sincerity and their political maturity. Sri Lankan Government has failed to understand this.

"Muslims and Hill Country Tamils too have been ignored by the SriLankan Government and are subjected to severe hardships. Recent incidents in Talawakelle illustrate their plight.

"Tamils who are not involved in the struggle have been attacked and killed by security forces. The murder of an innocent five year old child in Mirusuvil is a testimony to the human rights abuses inflicted on innocent civilian population.

"Liberation Tigers have earned the trust of vast majority of Tamils. Tamils are prepared to accept agreements reached by the LTTE with the SriLankan Government. Therefore it makes sense for the Government to enter into talks with LTTE.

"Since Sweden has taken a lead role in the functioning of the European Union, we urge the Swedish Government to take an active role in resolving the conflict in Sri Lanka," added the Tamil representatives.

The Ambassador who was listening attentively to party representives said, "Sweden will extend full cooperation to Norway's peace initiatives. We are prepared to provide all required assistance to advance the peace process. The Charge d'affairs and I will convey your requests and inputs to the Swedish Government."

The Ambassador questioned the Tamil party representatives as to why the Coalition of Tamil Parties has not met the President or the Leader of the Opposition.

The representatives responded that they have lost trust in SriLanka's political process and feel that there is no use in talking to the Government or to the Opposition directly. "That is why we decided to approach the ambassadors to inform our plight to the world community at large. However, our coalition is meeting tomorrow and we will take a decision on this issue," added the Tamil group.

Member of Parliament and Leader of All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC), A. Vinayagamoorthy, General Secretary Prof. N. Guruparan, Leader of Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO) N. Sri Kantha, Member of Democratic Workers Congress Party Mano Ganesan, General Secretary of Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) Suresh Premachandran, President of Muslim United Liberation Front (MULF) Mujibur Rahman and Ashroff Azziz representing the Azziz Democratic Worker's Congress, participated in the meeting.

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