Jaffna bishop meets LTTE leaders in Vanni

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 April 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The bishop of Jaffna Thomas Saundranayagam held discussions with the political wing of the Liberation Tigers last week in the Vanni. The meeting took place during a visit by the bishop to the Vanni to attend to church affairs and to see the condition of the people living in the region.

Thamilchelvan, Vithuran and Sutha of the LTTE's political wing and the organisation's political advisor Anton Balasingham met the bishop for the discussions.

The bishop told the LTTE leaders that the people of the Vanni and Jaffna have now been separated due to war. He told them that the LTTE should consider third party mediation.

The LTTE's political wing leaders informed bishop Saundranayagam that the Liberation Tigers have always preferred and welcomed third party mediation but that it is up to the government to do this.

They told him that the government has made it clear that it does not want third party mediation.

The LTTE's political wing leaders were of the view that the government is using military strategy and the devolution package to weaken the Liberation Tigers and that there is no unity among the Sinhala parties, including the UNP, on a political settlement to the Tamil question.

They told the bishop that the Sri Lankan government has failed to achieve its objectives against the Tigers both on the military front and the political front.

The Tiger leaders also said that they welcomed the new government in India. And they told the bishop that a solution to the ethnic problem in Sri Lanka can be reached only when the Liberation Tigers and the Sri Lankan army are equal in military power.