New HSZ location not compatible with CFA - Thamilchelvan

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 May 2003, 16:10 GMT]
In a letter addressed to Mr. Austin Fernando, secretary to the Ministry of Defence in Sri Lanka, Mr. S.P. Thamilchelvan, head of the political section of the LTTE, expressed LTTE's dismay at SLA's new proposal to relocate the High Security Zone (HSZ) within Jaffna town. He further requested early action to move the military complexes from densely populated areas.

Extracts from the letter follow:

"The location suggested in your letter above is in very close proximity of the gateway to the island division- Jaffna/Pannai Street, Jaffna Post Office, Jaffna MPCS, Srilanka Telecom, Veerasingham Hall, Fish Market, Stadium and many other places of public convergence. "

"You are fully aware that the internally displaced families of the Jaffna peninsula are still facing difficulties in having access to their natural habitats and unable to resettle and recommence their day to day life under a state of normalcy because of the heavy concentration of troops."

"The sprit and the letter of the CFA is to minimize the military presence in densely populated areas and your proposal is therefore incompatible with the CFA and run against the anticipation of bringing about normalcy. It is appropriate to point out here that there was heavy protest from the civilians for the original proposal and we are afraid that your latest proposal too would bring about such public agitation. This issue, you will agree, has created a sense of frustration in the minds of the public and would go against our intended goal of confidence building. We therefore request of you to review the new proposal in the light of the CFA and the various articles intended to bring about normalcy. Early action to relocate military complexes from densely populated areas would be very much appreciated."