"To us all towns are one, all men our kin. |
"To us all towns are one, all men our kin. |
| Home | Trans State Nation | Tamil Eelam | Beyond Tamil Nation | Comments |
Home > Struggle for Tamil Eelam > Sri Lanka's Broken Pacts & Evasive Proposals > Chandrika - LTTE Talks: 1994/95 > LTTE Press Release, 19 April 1995
Press Release by Political Committee,
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
(English Translation of LTTE statement released by
LTTE International Secretariat, 211 Kathenne Road, London E6 IBU, United Kingdom. Tel/Fax: 0181-470 8593)
19 April 1995
LTTE withdraws from the Peace process, following Government's failure to respect the time frame
LTTE leader V.Pirabakaran has sent a letter to Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga on 18th April 1995 intimating the LTTE's decision to withdraw from the peace talks as well as the cessation of hostilities agreement. Regretting the fact that the government had left them with no other choice, Mr. Pirabakaran has described the Presidents letter of 12th April as evasive and temporising.
Expressing disappointment, he has said that the contents of the letter revealed a calculated attempt to procrastinate over the many issues raised by them. After more than six months exchange of views, the solitary positive outcome was the governments decision to lift the economic embargo to the north. Although this decision was conveyed in the Presidents letter of 24th March, there had been deliberate attempts to slow down the process of implementation. On the other issues raised by the LTTE, the Presidents letter of 12th April was either evasive, or temporising, or procrastinating. .
Certain concessions have been promised with regard to the easing of the ban on fishing. But a major portion of the sea still remains out of bounds for Tamil fishermen. The assurance given in the Presidents letter of 24th March that the various restrictions on fishing could be removed, has therefore not been kept. Regarding two other very important issues, namely, the removal of the Pooneryn army camp in affording a safe passage to Jaffna, and the freedom to carry arms by LTTE cadres in the East, Mr. Pirabakaran has said that the Presidents response was not acceptable. Saying that these could be discussed in future talks was only meant to evade the issues. Trying to make out that these major issues sound inconsequential, was a clear revelation of the governments intention, he said. .
It was apparent that the objective of the government was not to bring about normality and a durable peace in the country. On the contrary, the achievement of military gains seems to be uppermost in the governments thinking. What is more, the government was taking care to exploit the agreement on the cessation of hostilities to build up its armed strength. That in itself went against the spirit of the agreement. .
In conclusion, Mr. Pirabakaran has said that the unwillingness on the part of the government to solve any one of the contentious issues satisfactorily within the time frame given by the LTTE, had compelled them to make the painful decision to withdraw from the peace process. The government had left them with no other choice, he said, and expressed his deep regret that this had to happen.
