Rising number of displaced makes CFA meaningless - Elilan

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 May 2006, 21:14 GMT]
"It is meaningless to say that we live in a peaceful period with the signing of a ceasefire agreement when increasing numbers of Tamil people are being displaced and forced to live under tree shades and culverts to save their lives from aerial bombardment and artillery attacks," said Mr.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) addressing a condolence meeting held at Pattalipuram Tamil School mourning the death of Mr.Oppilamany Sankaran, a member of LTTE auxiliary force.

The funeral of Mr.Sankaran killed in the artillery fire by the Sri Lanka Army in Upparu on Wednesday morning was held Thursday morning at Alankulam Thuyillum Illam in Muttur east.

Earlier the casket was kept at Pattalipuram Tamil School for people to pay homage. Later it was taken in a procession to Alankulam and buried there with full military honours.

"Eventhough one month has passed following the attack on the Muttur east villages by the State armed forces, only one week dry ration has been distributed to thousands of displaced families who still are living as refugees.

"That one week ration too has been distributed by the World Food Programme (WFP) and not by the Government of Sri Lanka. This has not caught the attention of the international community and the European Union," Mr.S.Elilan said.

Representatives of international community have seen the suffering of refugee families since April in Trincomalee district. But no action has been taken to alleviate their sufferings, said Mr.Elilan.

The Government of Sri Lanka has been saying that it has allocated money for providing relief to displaced Tamil families due to military operation in the Muttur east but no such relief has reached the affected even after one month, said Mr.Elilan.