Ilankai Tamil Sangam

TIC PRESS RELEASE

Date: 18 February 2007

Appointment of LTTE Spokesperson on Human Rights is a Welcome Step

The Tamil information Centre (TIC) welcomes the appointment of Ms Selvy as the spokesperson of the LTTE on humanitarian and human rights issues and the announcement of her contact details. This paves the way for effective and productive engagement with the LTTE on human rights and humanitarian issues and concerns. The TIC considers the appointment as an important step by the LTTE, who are engaged in a violent conflict with the Sri Lankan state, while facing threats and challenges by internal and external forces, to respond to allegations, concerns and pleas of individuals, organisations and groups working within its territory, where it is the de facto government, as well as concerns from outside this territory.

TIC has been receiving numerous complaints and concerns from people, organisations and groups working in Sri Lanka, in particular those within the LTTE controlled areas, of widespread violation of human rights and threats to their lives and liberty. Human rights abuses by all parties, including the LTTE, deserve to be condemned in the strongest possible terms. The TIC believes that this an opportunity for the LTTE who are fighting a war of liberation to demonstrate that it is not merely a military force, but also an entity that strives to transform the diverse and deeply-impoverished north-east, strengthening social and economic democracy, drawing strength from the people, and pursuing a just path towards the basic right of self-determination.

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