'Military readiness vital for self defence' - Ramesh

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 November 2002, 13:57 GMT]
"Sri Lankan governments of the past, under the cloak of peace talks, have been deceiving the Tamil people. We firmly believe that Sri Lankan politicians in power will not make the same mistake this time. If the State attempts to oppress our people again with the use of military force we will be ready to defend," said Ramesh, head of Liberation Tigers Batticaloa-Ampara military section, at the passing out ceremony of a commando unit in Ampara, Sunday.

The last day of the tenth passing out parade of the Commando group took place at the playground in Kanjikudichaaru. Col. Ramesh participated as the chief guest for the event presided by the Ampara district head of the LTTE military wing, Col. Janarthanan.



"Our people have suffered immensely during the war for the last several years due to economic hardship and destruction to their lives, limbs and property. Our leader, V. Pirapaharan, chose to participate in peace talks to reach a resolution of our conflict only as prudent way to bring an end to the suffering of our people,” said Ramesh.

“We firmly believe that we can reach a fair and just solution to our struggle through negotiations. Maintaining our military strength is vital if we are to be successful in our negotiations. We detest war. But we also believe that if we don't continue to maintain our military strength and if we fail to be in utmost readiness to meet any military threat, it will be difficult to win our rights," he said.




Arrangements were made for the relatives and parents of the members of the passing out class to attend the event and to meet with their sons and daughters. At the conclusion of the event, Ramesh presented prizes to the winners of different sports events conducted as part of the passing out ceremony.