SANGAM.ORG
Ilankai Tamil Sangam, USA, Inc.
Association of Tamils of Sri Lanka in the USA
April 14, 2006
The Parliamentary Group of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) urgently met today in Colombo to consider the grave situation prevailing in the Northeast, and especially in the Trincomalee District.
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| Tamil shops afire in Trincomalee, April 12, 2006 (courtesy Nitharsanam.com) |
Despite the agreement reached at Geneva between the GOSL and the LTTE regarding the need to disarm the paramilitary groups functioning with the GOSL armed forces, no action whatsoever has been taken in this regard up to date. Instead many Tamil civilians residing in the Northeast, including Mr.V.Vigneswaran, the chairman of the Trincomalee Tamil People’s Forum, have been ruthlessly killed by these paramilitary groups. That the GOSL’s Military Intelligence is also involved with these paramilitary groups in well known. The continuing violent incidents of this nature are the cause for the present tense situation.
Like the July 1983 genocidal pogrom against the Tamils, the current violence against the Tamil speaking people has been unleashed in Trincomalee with the connivance of the SL Navy. The SL Navy had brought Sinhalese mobs by the truck loads to the heart of the Trincomalee Town, who in turn began murdering, and causing grievous hurt to Tamil speaking people, whilst setting on fire and destroying Tamil commercial centres. That the SL navy orchestrated these incidents is clear. We wish to point out, that the Jaffna District TNA Parliamentarian Hon.N.Raviraj was severely attacked and his vehicle badly damaged by Sinhala mobs at Abeyapura in Trincomalee at about 5.30pm in the presence of the SL Navy officers on 11/04/2006. The TNA condemns in the strongest possible terms these types of State Terror that is being unleashed on the Tamil speaking people.
The TNA considers that these continuous acts of State Terror are being unleashed on the Tamil speaking people, with the specific objective of terrorizing the Tamil speaking people into fleeing the Trincomalee District with the intention of ethnically cleansing the District of Tamils.
We fear that these incidents orchestrated by the government will have serious repercussion for the upcoming Geneva talks. We call upon the International Community to strongly condemn these acts of State Terror against the Tamil speaking people. Further, the TNA urges the GOSL to take immediate steps to desist from such acts.
The TNA wishes to express its deepest condolences to the victims’ families and prays for the speedy recovery of all the injured.
MAVAI S. SENATHIRAJAH M.P.
(On behalf of the TNA Parliamentary Group)
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Statement from Elilan on Trincomalee situation
"If the genocide attacks by State armed forces with the connivance of Sinhalese hoodlums continue in the Trincomalee district we would be forced to take steps to safeguard the lives and properties of innocent Tamil people in the district and that would lead to undesirable serious consequence on the current peace process," warned Mr.S.Elilan, LTTE district political head in a statement on the afresh violence against Tamil people in the suburbs of Trincomalee town since Friday afternoon.
"We took up arms at a time when the State armed forces unleashed violence and genocide attacks on Tamil people in the northeast. The government troops with connivance of Sinhalese thugs have again started unleashing violence against Tamils during the peacetime.," said Mr.Elilan.
"Curfew has been imposed in Trincomalee town and its suburbs after houses and properties of Tamil people have been burnt down and destroyed by thugs with the assistance of government troops. During the curfew time we receive reports that thugs with the assistance of the government troops are entering the houses of Tamils and attack them. This cannot be condoned by us any more," said Mr.Elilan.
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