Youths are cornerstone of our struggle- Ilamparithy

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 September 2004, 00:32 GMT]
"Younger generation is the cornerstone of our struggle. We are fully aware of the efforts by our adversaries to spread social ills among our people. We accept that some level of distraction among the teen-agers is unavoidable. But this helps us in building strong social resistance against negative influences in the long term," said Ilamparithy, LTTE's head of political wing in Jaffna district.

Ilamparithy leads a busy LTTE political office located along Potpathy Road off of Kokuvil-Thirunelvely road near Jaffna Town.

"We are involved in all social aspects of residents of Jaffna. The Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE precludes us from conducting investigations on any matters of dispute among residents. We therefore seek to resolve disputes through compromise," said Ilamparithy on one of the key activities of the political office.

Arumugam Kanagaratnam from Kilinochchi on the trail of a loan defaulter

Wednesday is designated the day when residents can bring complaints to the LTTE office on matters of dispute for resolution. The office formally opens at 8.00 am but people start entering the building half an hour before. Ilamparithy listens to the complaints and decides on actions the Political office can take.

Arumugam Kanagaratnam is third in line trying to recover the Rs.38,000 he lent to the accused in Kilinochchi. The Tamil eelam court in Kilinochchi ruled in Kanagaratnam's favor but the accused absconded to her native village in Jaffna when after the ceasefire. Kanagaratnam knows where the accused lived and is armed with receipts of all expenses incurred in following the accused. He is confident that the political office will convince the accused of returning his loan.

Woman from Jaffna town to file a complaint of theft

First in line is an older woman from Jaffna town whose house was robbed six months earlier. She knows where the thief is and hopes that the LTTE office will help her to recover her lost goods and punish the thief to perform "unpaid social work."

Another young woman from Urumpirai wants to file a complaint about her husband who has a drinking habit. She says unless some stern is taken, her husband's unruly conduct will interfere with her children's studies at home.

Urumpirai woman with complaint of domestic abuse

Close to 300 complaints are received at the Jaffna political office on a busy day. Some of the disputes take several visits before they are resolved.

"We can always expect truth and fairness in the way the office handles disputes," said Kanagaratnam, adding, "In normal courts everything gets delayed and the officials do not seem to care. Here the verdict is swift and decisions are rarely disputed."

Legal filing from the Kilinochchi Tamil Eelam court

Kilinochchi court ruling in favor of Kanagaratnam

Entrance to LTTE's Jaffna Political Office

Name board at the LTTE's Jaffna Political Office in Potpathy Road, Kokuvil