The Hindu : International : Sri Lankan Government encouraging armed groups, says LTTE

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Aug 24, 2004

International

International

Sri Lankan Government encouraging armed groups, says LTTE

By V.S. Sambandan

COLOMBO, AUG. 23. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam today charged the Sri Lankan Government with "accommodating and encouraging" armed groups and said it was "a serious threat" to the two-year-old ceasefire agreement.

Three days after two of its senior members were killed in an ambush in eastern Sri Lanka, the LTTE's political wing leader, S.P. Tamilchelvan, in a letter to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, said the Government forces had "acted in bad faith" in the run-up to the killing of its former political wing leader for the eastern Amparai district, Bawa, on August 20.

`Planned attack'

Describing the attack as "meticulously planned" and carried out close to "two military checkpoints," he said that it was not the first time that the Army had acted in bad faith and colluded with elements opposed to the Tamil cause. The LTTE also renewed its charge that the Army's "military intelligence personnel" were in collaboration "with various armed groups" — an allegation denied by the Sri Lankan Army.

`Wild allegations'

Defence sources see the LTTE's latest complaint as "wild allegations" that are "aimed at delaying recommencing negotiations" with the Government.

Today's accusation by the LTTE is the strongest against the Sri Lankan Army since the March 3 rebellion by its former military commander, V. Muralitharan (`Col.' Karuna). The LTTE, which described the revolt as "an internal problem," subsequently "discharged" `Col.' Karuna from the organisation. Later, as the former military commander continued to hold out against the LTTE in the eastern Batticaloa district, the Tigers said they had decided "to get rid" of him and launched a military operation on Good Friday.

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