LTTE delegation meets Belgian, EU Officials

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 October 2004, 13:29 GMT]
Liberation Tigers delegation lead by Head of Political Wing, S.P.Thamilchelvan, met with Officials of Foreign Affairs Section of the Belgian Government and of the European Union in two separate meetings Monday, LTTE sources from Brussels said.

LTTE Political Head Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan meets Mr.Herve Jouanjean, Deputy Director General Europian Commision at the EU complex in Brussels Belgium

LTTE delegation meets with Ambassador Christian Monnoyer, Head of the Asia Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Belgium

Pulidevan, Director of LTTE Peace Secretariat, accompanied Thamilchelvan to the meetings.

Deputy Director of Foreign Affairs section of Government of Belgium, Christian Monnoyer and Head of the Asia section of the Foreign Affairs Ministry met with the LTTE delegation and discussed matters related to Belgian Governments participation in assisting humanitarian projects in the NorthEast.

In a later meeting with the European Union Deputy Director for Foreign Affairs, held at the European Union Secretariat building, the LTTE delegation requested the EU for its increased help for making peace process move forward by,

• Exerting pressure on the ruling alliance led by Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Bandaranayake to use the support expressed by opposition parties to take immediate steps to resume talks,
• Providing support and assistance to arrest the marked decline in confidence among the Tamil people on the peace process,
• Ensuring that articles of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) are fully complied with, especially those relating to SLA vacating public buildings and schools, and
• Assisting to contain the violence in the east by insisting that SLA refrain from helping armed militant groups.

The EU Official told the LTTE delegation that the European Union expects full co-operation from the LTTE to assist in EU's efforts to move the peace process forward.