LTTE urges UK, French Foreign ministers to continue initiatives

[TamilNet, Saturday, 02 May 2009, 17:59 GMT]
The LTTE’s Head of the Political Division on Saturday appreciated the attempts of the UK and French foreign ministers for visiting Colombo to address the dire humanitarian crisis faced by the Tamil people. In his letter to the ministers, the LTTE political head clarified the situation of IDPs in LTTE control areas in Vanni and invited international monitors to assess the civilian situation. Further, he concurred with the Foreign Ministers’ assessment of the situation by stating that ‘Should the Sri Lankan regime be permitted to continue with its ultimate objective of imposing a ‘final solution’ through military means, we have no doubt that it will destabilize the region’.

Full text of the statement issued by LTTE follows:

Media release
02.05.2009
TamilEelam

LTTE urge the UK and French Foreign ministers to continue their initiatives

The LTTE’s Head of the Political Division appreciate the attempts of the UK and French foreign ministers for visiting Colombo to address the dire humanitarian crisis faced by the Tamil people. In his letter to the ministers, he clarified the situation of IDPs in LTTE control areas in Vanni and invited international monitors to assess the civilian situation. Further, he concurred with the Foreign Ministers’ assessment of the situation by stating that ‘Should the Sri Lankan regime be permitted to continue with its ultimate objective of imposing a ‘final solution’ through military means, we have no doubt that it will destabilize the region’.

Following are the extracts of his letter to the ministers of UK and France.

“May, I take this opportunity to draw attention to our unilateral announcement of a cease fire on 26th April and our position that only such a ceasefire can end the humanitarian crisis. We are ready to engage in the process to bring about a ceasefire and enter into negotiations for an enduring resolution to the conflict.”

“The civilians living in areas under our control are people who have always lived in this region and have faced multiple displacements during this current phase of the Sri Lankan military offensive. In fact, it was the administrative structures of our organisation with the help of local and international humanitarian agencies that were able to provide limited assistance to these Internally Displaced People. Unfortunately, with the expulsion of the humanitarian agencies, the people are confronted with even greater hardship. We call for an international monitoring mechanism that can ascertain for itself the plight of civilians who have sought sanctuary in the areas under our control.”

“Given the political ideology that drives the Sri Lankan state, there is little reason to hope that it would, on its own accord, consider any accommodation with Tamil aspirations. Indeed this is the bitter lesson learnt by the Tamil people during the last 60 years following the departure of the British in 1948. We are convinced that this particular phase of the conflict is an attempt to eradicate a distinct Tamil identity. It is in the face of this situation that we seek the recognition and the support of the international community for our struggle. It is a struggle for democracy and an enduring peace based on our aspirations as a people. Should the Sri Lankan regime be permitted to continue with its ultimate objective of imposing a ‘final solution’ through military means, we have no doubt that it will destabilize the region. We concur with the assessment that this conflict “does have regional and wider ramifications”. Hence, the urgent need to force the Sri Lankan Government to halt its military campaign fueled by the intent to commit genocide.”