Jaffna against holding national sports festival

[TamilNet, Saturday, 06 September 2003, 20:54 GMT]
Tamileelam Sports Co-ordinating Committee (TSCC) Saturday said in a statement that the decision of the Central Ministry of Sports to hold the 29th National Sports Festival in Jaffna is an act against the feelings of Tamil people, sources said.

“Organizing peace marches, providing assistance to restore temples, holding peace prayers and now attempting to hold national sports festival by the Sri Lanka Government authorities after the ceasefire agreement came into operation should be considered as ploys to infiltrate in our homeland,” the TSCC statement said.

The Government of SriLanka (GoSL) is very keen to organize the 29th National Sports Festival to show the world that it is interested in the welfare of Tamils. The GoSL is able to mobilize all its resources to organize such cultural events in Jaffna, the statement further said.

"If the Government of Sri Lanka works genuinely towards easing the hardship of displaced Tamil people and to bring normality to the lives of people in Jaffna, then we would not oppose such events," the statement further said.