LTTE delegation meets John Hume

[TamilNet, Saturday, 30 October 2004, 14:46 GMT]
“Learning to live with diversity and respect for each other is the cornerstone of a meaningful democracy," said Social Democratic and Labor Party (SDLP) Leader, former Member of EU Parliament and Nobel Laureate, Mr. John Hume, in a meeting with the LTTE delegation led by its Head of Political Wing, S.P.Thamilchelvan, Friday, said LTTE sources in Ireland.

Mr. Hume told the LTTE delegation that "rigid polarization by the parties to the conflict should be avoided in the interest of conflict resolution and nation building." Referring to Sri Lanka's beauty and its potential for development, Mr. Hume said that he would encourage the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE to enter into negotiations without any further delay.

Thamilchelvan told Mr Hume that bitter experiences of Tamil people of abrogated pacts and agreements with past governments of Sri Lanka as key reasons for Tamil people approaching any new political arrangement with caution.

Thamilchelvan added that Tamil people expect Colombo to use the offer of support by the main opposition party and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to restart negotiations and to deal firmly with opposition to peace talks from its allies.

Mr Hume assured the delegation that he will make use of his parliamentary position and lobby for increased assistance to the war affected region and support for the Norwegian Government in its role in Sri Lanka's peace process.