Trinco LTTE commander meets TNA

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 October 2004, 05:03 GMT]
Col. Sornam, the Commander of the Liberation Tigers in Trincomalee, Tuesday met Tamil National Alliance MPs who are on a fact finding and familiarisation visit in the eastern district. The seventeen TNA MPs and the senior LTTE commander discussed the severe poverty and underdevelopment faced by Tamils in the rural parts of Trincomalee and the need to further cement Tamil-Muslim unity. "Our top priority today is to rebuild our society, all but destroyed by the Sinhala state through systematic racial discrimination and genocide", Col. Sornam told the TNA MPs.

The LTTE commander urged the Parliamentarians to study the lives of people in the underdeveloped and impoverished backwater of Trincomalee and to take concrete steps to improve their lot.

"In Pattaalipuram, a village in Mutur's interior, the only livelihood people have is the collection and sale of wild honey. They do not have access to even basic medical and sanitary facilities. There are scores of such villages in Trincomalee. Hundreds of children are without schools. We fought this war for our people. We have a collective responsibility to ensure their welfare", Col. Sornam said. The meeting was held at the LTTE's conference centre in Sambur.