SLAF, SLA attacks tantamount to declaration of war by Colombo, Elilan tells SLMM

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 July 2006, 16:49 GMT]
Liberation Tigers Trincomalee District Political Head S. Elilan, in an urgent letter to the Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Major General Ulf Henricsson Saturday evening said that artillery attacks by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and air strikes by the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) in the Liberation Tigers controlled territories in the Northeast, tantamounted to Declaration of War by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) against the LTTE. "It is now appropriate for the SLMM to declare publicly that the ceasefire agreement is not holding anymore on the ground," Mr. Elilan told media.

Mr. Elilan further said that the Sri Lankan armed forces were taking steps to move troops by land to LTTE controlled Mavilaru.

"We would retaliate fiercely if Sri Lankan troopers enter our Mavilaru area. It will lead to serious consequences," said Mr.Elilan.

Elilan asked SLMM to openely declare that ceasefire agreement is not in force as the Sri Lankan Armed Forces are continuing their air strike and artillery attack indiscriminately on villages in the LTTE held areas and on LTTE offices.

The Parties, the GoSL and the LTTE, waging a low intensity warfare, are bound by the Ceasfire Agreement (CFA) to notify the monitors and the facilitators 14 days in advance before resuming hostilities that terminate the CFA.

In the absence of such notification by the GoSL, the SLMM, as the monitoring authority of the CFA, should openly declare their stand, Mr. Elilan said after sending the letter to SLMM Head.

Responding to a question on the displacment of civilians, Mr Elilan said: "The Sri Lankan government is saying that three thousand farmers are affected by the stoppage of water through Mavilaru sluice gate. But due to the aerial strike and artillery fire more than three thousand Tamil families in the villages have fled from their homes seeking safety."

The SLMM should take this into serious consideration, Mr.Elilan said.

He said there were no casualties in aerial and artillery attacks carried out by government troops Saturday in Mavilaru, as most of the residents of the area have left their homes.

Some civilian houses had been damaged in the attack, he further said.