Colombo's bona fides for peace, suspect- TNA

[TamilNet, Monday, 26 December 2005, 17:11 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in a press release issued Monday said the assassination of Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham raises serious doubts in regard to the genuineness of the Government's commitment to the honest and purposeful pursuit of the peace process. "We consider it our duty to point out that the assassination of Mr. Pararajasingham, a Tamil leader unequivocally committed to the resolution of the Tamil question by peaceful means is a serious blow to the credibility of the peace process," the statement said.

"We call upon the Government to immediately take necessary corrective action by dismantling all such clandestine relationships, which would be the only way to infuse any confidence in the peace process," said the TNA press release.

The press release was signed by Mr.R.Sampanthan, Parliamentary Group Leader of the TNA, Mr.Mavai Senathirajah, General Secretary of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchchi (ITAK), Mr. Suresh Premachchandran, Secretary General of the Eelam Peoples Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), Mr.Selvam Adaikalanathan, Secretary-General of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO) and Mr.Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, General Secretary of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC).

The full text of the press release follows:

The Tamil National Alliance (Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchchi) condemns the despicable and dastardly assassination of Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham, Member of Parliament within the premises of the Roman Catholic Church at Batticaloa during the Christmas Mass.

Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham became a member of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchchi- the Federal Party- shortly after it's formation, and was a member of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) from its inception. He was an Executive Committee Member and Member of the TULF politburo and at the time of his demise was the senior vice-president of the TULF. He was fully involved in the democratic and political struggle of the Tamil-speaking people for equality and justice. He was a sober and moderate politician who earned the respect of the Tamil-speaking people. He represented the Batticaloa district in parliament for a considerable period of time.

He was fully involved with the process to evolve a peaceful resolution to the Tamil national question. He was greatly concerned about the possible resumption of war, and firmly believed that the Tamil question should be resolved in a just and durable manner through dialogue and negotiations.

The assassination of Mr.Joseph Pararajasingham has occurred at a critical time in the peace process. He has been assassinated in the presence of a large congregation within the church premises in the Batticaloa town, within the government-controlled territory. Eyewitnesses state that while the road leading to the church was manned by Armed Forces, Police personnel were on duty outside the church.

The meaningful continuance of the peace process has been long disturbed by certain Tamil paramilitary groups functioning in close collaboration with sections of the Armed Forces, particularly the Military Intelligence Wing. The assassination of Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham is clearly attributable to this ongoing clandestine relationship.

The assassination of Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham raises serious doubts in regard to the genuineness of the Government's commitment to the honest and purposeful pursuit of the peace process. We consider it our duty to point out that the assassination of Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham, a Tamil leader unequivocally committed to the resolution of the Tamil question by peaceful means is a serious blow to the credibility of the peace process.

We call upon the Government to immediately take necessary corrective action by dismantling all such clandestine relationships, which would be the only way to infuse any confidence in the peace process," the press release concluded.