LTTE delegation meets British Tory leaders

[TamilNet, Thursday, 04 September 2003, 17:22 GMT]
The political leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Mr. S.P.Thamilchelvan, met with the Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the British Parliament and Shadow Foreign Secretary, Mr. Michael Ancram,M.P., and Lord Ashcroft, the former treasurer of the British Conservative party, in Colombo Thursday shortly after his return from abroad, LTTE peace secretariat sources said.

The LTTE’s special commander for Batticaloa-Ampara, Col. Karuna, and Mr. Pulithevan, the director of the LTTE’s peace secretariat were also present at the meeting.

The LTTE sources said that the Shadow Foreign Secretary expressed concern over matters relating to resettlement, rehabilitation, and reconstruction and bringing about normalcy in the Northeast. He also expressed a desire to meet with the leader of the LTTE, Mr. V. Pirapaharan, the sources added.

Thamilchevan and Col. Karuna seen meeting British Tory leaders Michael Ancram and Lord Ashcroft. At extreme left is British High Commissioner in Sri Lanka, Stephen Evans. Photo: LTTE Peace Secretariat.


Mr. Thamilchelvan expressed his gratitude for the interest that the British Conservative Party officials had shown in the Northeast issues, thanked them on behalf of the people of the Northeast and the LTTE leader, and sought their assistance in creating the conditions in Sri Lanka and internationally for the success of the peace initiative and the establishment of an Interim Administration in the Northeast, the sources said.

The meeting of the LTTE delegation with the British Conservative Party officials in Colombo comes in the wake of wide-ranging discussions the delegation had with Legal and Constitutional experts in Paris and a meeting with high-ranking Swiss government officials in Bern, Switzerland.

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