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A Call to Condemn & Stop Government's Actions Against Civilians

LTTE Press Release, April 26, 2006

"In the present Convention [on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide], genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births in the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

A call to the international community to condemn and immediately stop the Sinhala Government's attempted genocide

We express our distress and dissatisfaction about the absence of concern conveyed by the international community about the ethnically directed oppressive activities of the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) that has been let loose since 25 April 2006.

In these two days, GoSL has violated gravely and totally the ceasefire agreement (CFA), between the GoSL and the LTTE, which is under international monitoring.

The three forces of GoSL (army, navy and air force) have conducted a heavy and cruel, shelling, naval gunboat firing, and aerial bombing, in Trincomalee in Muthur east, an area under our control. This attack was deliberately and entirely directed at civilian settlements. Based on the information we have received so far, more than 12 civilians have been killed; more than 26 civilians have been seriously injured; millions of rupees worth of property belonging to the Tamil speaking people has been destroyed; and more than 40,000 people have displaced and are languishing as refugees. They are terrorized. Normalcy in civilian life has been utterly destroyed.

Sinhala military has also carried out a continuous artillery attack on Vavunithivu in Batticaloa. As a result the normalcy in people's lives there too has been destroyed.

This aside, the main transport routes of the Tamils that were opened as part of the CFA, have been closed by GoSL suddenly and without any prior notice. This sudden action by GoSL in violation of the CFA has destroyed normalcy in people's lives. People who have traveled to other districts to conduct their usual work are stranded and are unable to return to their own homes. The entire Tamil population is living in a permanent state of fear.

In addition, today, two civilians have been shot and killed in Vavuniya and Jaffna. This is a continuation of the recent murderous activities of GoSL against Tamil civilians who are living in areas that are under the control of the Sri Lankan military.

This terror atmosphere that has been created throughout the Tamil homeland has shattered the Tamil people. LTTE had protected Tamil people from the GoSL terror for many years. Today, Tamil people are seeking and expecting protection from our movement.

While GoSL has openly declared war, and is carrying out these reprehensible murders of Tamil civilians, the international community is turning a blind eye. It has failed to condemn these acts, it has failed to put pressure on GoSL to stop it, and it has failed to try to bring normalcy in people's lives. This has shocked and saddened our movement and the Tamil people.

We call on the international community to strongly condemn the genocidal attempt on the Tamil speaking people, the brutal attacks of state terrorism. We hope the international community clearly understands that the GoSL is trying to destroy the CFA created with the support of the international community and drag the Tamil people and the LTTE into a war atmosphere.

Headquarters,
Political Division
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam

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