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| Friday, 28 November 2003 |
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ISGA not a step towards secession - Prabhakaran by Ranga Jayasuriya LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran in his "Heroes' Day" address denied allegations that his movement was re-arming for war and said its counter proposals are not a step towards secession. He refuted charges that the Tigers have been rewarded too much during the ceasefire and said instead they have suffered heavy loses during the last two years, pointing to sinking of what he called two LTTE merchant ships. "There is absolutely no truth in President Kumaratunga's accusation that we are preparing for war by procuring weapons, recruiting on a large-scale and strengthening our military machine", he said. Prabhakaran however admitted that the Tigers are recruiting in "small-scale" for what he called to maintain administrative structure. "These false allegations are levelled against us to tarnish the credibility of our liberation organisation and to disrupt the peace process". Prabhakaran repeated the Tigers earlier justification that the failure of the Sub-Committees to address the Tamils' grievances and the marginalisation of the LTTE before the international community compelled the Tigers to suspend the talks and "review the strategies". He said the Tigers are demanding an Interim Administration since the rehabilitation activities in the North-East is urgent and could not wait till a final solution is reached. "The allegations levelled against our draft proposals that they aim to create an independent Tamil State or that they contain stepping stones for separation are not true. Our proposals do not constitute a framework for a permanent, final solution. Our draft proposals deal with an interim arrangement". He however said the LTTE proposals call for "substantial" self-governing authority without which massive rehabilitation programmes could not be undertaken". He said the Wickremesinghe administration is "paralysed" following the President's takeover of the three Ministries. "The power struggle between the two leaders has resulted in the de-stabilisation of the state and the peace process has come to a standstill". "The Tamil speaking people and the international governments committed to peace are concerned and disappointed over this crisis". He said the "international safety net" of the Wickremesinghe administration has resulted in some countries overstepping their limitations in the ethnic question, which made the peace process more complex. He charged Sinhala politicians of opportunism which made the "Tamil Question continues forever as tragic drama without ending". "As a negative consequence of this chess game, in which the Tamils are used as pawns, several peace efforts have failed; several peace negotiations collapsed, several peace agreements torn apart and several peace pacts became defunct. As such, the Tamil conflict continues without resolution. The tragic life of our people continues," he said. Prabhakaran said the LTTE is committed to the peace process. "Having renounced violence, we have been making every effort through non-violent means to promote peace and reconciliation," he said. He warned if the Sinhala polity continues to deny the rights to the Tamils, the LTTE has no alternative other than to secede and form an independent state. "We urge the Sinhala political leadership not to create the objective conditions that would drive our people to seek this ultimate option," he said. |
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