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Norway must clarify stand: Colombo

B. Muralidhar Reddy

After LTTE chief's "Heroes Day" speech

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka on Tuesday asked Norway to clarify whether or not it would continue to play the role of a facilitator for resolution of the ethnic strife after Velupillai Prabakaran's declaration on Monday that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam had decided to take the route to an independent Tamil state.

Keheliya Rambukwella, defence spokesperson and Minister, characterised the LTTE chief's 2006 "Heroes Speech" on the intention of his organisation to fight for a separate state as "the same old song" and maintained that it made little difference to the Government and the forces on the ground.

The Minister said the Government had also sought a clarification from the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) on its role in the light of the new developments. In response to questions, Mr. Rambukwella said the Government position was that it was committed to resolving the ethnic issue through negotiations and keeping the doors open for the Tamil Tigers to join the "democratic mainstream."

He said the Government had acted with "utmost patience" and refrained from retaliatory attacks until an attempt was made on the life of the Army Commander Sarath Fonseka in April.

The Minister said Mr. Prabakaran's reference to the 2002 Cease Fire Agreement as "defunct" was noteworthy and the Government had sought a clarification from the SLMM about its role in this context. He wondered if the LTTE no longer wanted the Norwegians as facilitators.

Mr. Rambukwella contended that Mr. Prabakaran's speech was full of falsehoods made only to win the sympathy of the international community and a desperate attempt to rally support from the Tamil people.

He denied reports that the civilian population in the peninsula was starving and said 300 tons of foodstuff had been transported every month on an average since January.

However, there were problems in distribution and sales, mainly due to the LTTE threats to prevent the people from patronising welfare shops run by the Army.

The defence spokesman claimed that civilians in the LTTE-controlled Vaharai area protested against the Tigers for preventing people leaving uncleared areas and using them as a human shield.

Military spokesperson Prasad Samarasinghe alleged that the LTTE was threatening civilians in Jaffna for purchasing goods at Army welfare shops.

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