Give urgent priority to ISGA, IFT tells Colombo

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 December 2004, 11:23 GMT]
Noting that the the proposal to resume Talks based on ISGA was accepted by the previous Government of Sri Lanka at the end of six rounds of talks and much deliberations between parties, the International Federation of Tamils (IFT), a consortium of expatriate Tamil organizations based in Geneva, in a press statement issued Friday warned that the present government’s suggestions to include ISGA proposals "as part of the final conclusion of the broad-based Talks" may provide for "misleading, prevaricating and ultimately sabotaging the Tamil people’s struggle for equality and justice."

IFT statement further warned that the "prolonged nonchalant attitude of the President" could turn out to be a "colossal mistake, disrupting the current peace situation and ending peace-talks, abruptly" and expressed its reservations on the Sri Lankan Government’s recent increase in budgetary allocations and the increase in the purchase of military hardware.

Excerpts from the Press Statement follow:

"A persistant refusal by the Sri Lankan government to agree with the request of the Tamil nation may lead to further deterioration of the situation already prevailing in the country. The IFT fears the prolonged nonchalant attitude of the President could turn out to be a colossal mistake, disrupting the current peace situation and ending peace-talks, abruptly.

"The proposal to resume Talks based on ISGA was accepted by the previous Government of Sri Lanka at the end of six rounds of talks and much deliberations between parties, in October, 2003. The Tamil people overwhelmingly supported the ISGA proposal in the Last general elections, in April, 2004 and voted for the continuance of the LTTE as their sole representative at the peace-talks. It is incumbent on the President of Sri Lanka to order immediate resumption of Talks, respecting the already agreed position and the verdict of the people at the last general elections.

"The International Tamil Community (ITC) along with its counterpart in Sri Lanka wishes to express its unreserved support to the proposals made by the LTTE for talks based on ISGA. The Tamil community wishes to point out that the present government’s suggestions to include ISGA proposals as part of the final conclusion of the broad-based Talks may provide for misleading, prevaricating and ultimately sabotaging the Tamil people’s struggle for equlity and justice.

"The broadbased Talks, as suggested by the president, has a tendency to procrastinate as the difference between the Sinhala and Tamil nations are age-old and complex. The attendant parties would need a long period of time to identify, to iron out differences and to agree at lasting solutions. But in case human justice, fairplay and social decency demand precedence over formalities, then, for the alleviation of sufferings of people and providing for their urgent humanitarian needs in the war-torn Tamil homeland, it is apparent that the ISGA, offering the best pragmatic ad hoc solution, be given urgent priority."

"The International Tamil Community (ITC) also wishes to express its reservations on the Sri Lankan Government’s recent increase in budgetary allocations to military and the increased purchase of military hardwares from Pakistan, China and other countries and also wishes to point out to the International community, its strong suspicions on the duplicity and the pernicious motives of the Sri Lankan Government."