LTTE leaflets alert residents, invite ex-militants

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 January 2003, 18:56 GMT]
The Batticaloa-Ampara political section of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) distributed two leaflets, one alerting residents of Batticaloa to be aware of nefarious elements who are trying to sabotage the peace process, and the other appealing to ex-militants collaborating with the Sri Lanka security forces and working with anti-LTTE groups to join the LTTE and participate in building peace, sources in Batticaloa said.

In the leaflet titled "Be Vigilant," the LTTE said, "In this climate of peace where people are returning to normal life without the fear of war, fear for their life and fear of destruction of their property, elements that are against the peace process are staging incidents to apportion blame on the LTTE.

"We are taking the peace process forward with our military commanders attending talks being conducted in Thailand and Norway. Our leader is determined to make this process a success so that our people can live with freedom and dignity.

"We appeal to you to be vigilant and to identify the elements that try to sabotage the peace process, and not unwittingly assist these elements to cause damage to the progress we have achieved."

The second leaflet was addressed to the Tamil youth who are collaborating with the security forcess or working with other groups. The leaflet said, "Dear fellow Tamil youths, our leader's direction and guidance have led to the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which has allowed our people to lead a normal life.

"We have lost 17561 of our fighters during this brutal war. Tamil civilians several times this number have been killed by the security forces.

"We appeal to you to abandon your current path and join our political section to help us build a lasting peace. Our movement will always welcome you to help us help our people."