LTTE delegation in Finland, meets with Foreign Minister and Åland representative

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 March 2005, 23:54 GMT]
"The Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) was supposed to bring normalcy. But, under the pretext of High Security Zones (HSZ), Tamil people were denied of access to their homes. The war-displaced people were then heavily struck by the tsunami that multiplied the hardships. The delay in institutionalising a Joint Mechanism and the continued Sri Lankan military support to paramilitary operatives in violation to the CFA clause 1.8 have created a collective sense of frustration in the minds of the Tamil People," Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan, LTTE's Political Head explained to Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Erkki Tuomioja, who received the LTTE delegation in Helsinki on Wednesday.

The Finnish Foreign Minister Mr. Tuomioja expressing the necessity to maintain the integrity of the CFA between the GoSL and the LTTE, reassured Finland's solidarity in post-tsunami humanitarian relief and reconstruction efforts, LTTE sources said.

Ms. Elina Kalkku, Director General, Department for the Americas and Asia, Mr.Mikko Pyhala, Ambassador, Asia and Oceania and the Minister’s Special Advisor Mr.Folke Sundman accompanied the Finnish FM.



In a separate meeting, The LTTE delegation received a presentation on the structure and administration of the Supreme Court of Finland, sources said.

The delegation also met with Mr. Roger Jansson, who now sits in the Finnish Eduskunta in Helsinki as the Member of Parliament for Åland.

The Åland Islands, characterised as a microstate within Finland, form an autonomous, demilitarised and unilingually Swedish province of Finland.