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Sri Lanka`s Tamil Rebels Say Their War Is `Defensive`
Thursday, 20 September 2007 - 8:04 PM SL Time
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Sri Lanka`s rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam said it`s fighting a ``defensive war`` against the government, in its first comments since losing control of the country`s east after 14 years of conflict.
``The LTTE is maintaining patience and still restricting itself to a defensive war,`` S.P. Thamilchelvan, head of the group`s political wing, said in an interview with TamilNet yesterday. He didn`t refer directly to the loss of the Eastern Province in July.
The government is attempting to escalate the island`s ethnic conflict to ``hitherto unseen heights`` by breaking up ethnic- Tamil communities in areas it now controls, Thamilchelvan said. A government minister last week denied it plans to divide districts in the Eastern and Northern Provinces.
The LTTE`s estimated 12,000 fighters still hold areas in northern Sri Lanka as part of their struggle for a separate homeland in the South Asian nation. Sri Lanka`s military has destroyed bases of the LTTE`s naval unit in recent weeks and says it has eliminated most of the vessels the group uses for weapons smuggling.
The airforce this morning bombed a LTTE underground weapons depot in Mullaitivu in northeast Sri Lanka, the Media Center for National Security said on its Web site. The air force bombs damaged several homes and injured at least six people, according to the LTTE`s Peace Secretariat.
The LTTE wants the international community to ``realize the futility of achieving peace`` by dealing with Sri Lanka`s government, Thamilchelvan said in the interview.
Land of Refugees
Development of the eastern region is the government`s cover for creating a land of refugees and promoting colonization by the ethnic Sinhalese community, Thamilchelvan said. The LTTE wants international monitors to visit the region and make their own assessment, he added.
Sinhalese make up almost 74 percent and Tamils about 8.5 percent of Sri Lanka`s 20 million people, according to U.S. government data.
``It is incorrect to say the government is attempting to colonize the east with Sinhalese,`` Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, the minister for media and mass communication, said Sept. 6 in response to an allegation by a lawmaker with the Tamil National Alliance party.
The government said in July it wants to hold elections in Eastern Province, possibly before the end of this year, and develop the region economically.
`Genuine Grievances`
A solution to Tamil demands can`t be based on dividing Sri Lanka, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said earlier this month, according to a report on the Defense Ministry`s Web site.
There are ``genuine Tamil grievances`` and ``genuine Tamil aspirations`` that have to be addressed, Rajapaksa said in an interview with Indian media. The LTTE doesn`t speak for all Tamils, he said.
``The vast majority of Tamil people want peace above everything`` and to them the state of Eelam is ``just an illusion,`` Rajapaksa said. ``The only question that is non- negotiable is a divided Sri Lanka.``
The conflict between the government and the LTTE escalated a year ago as two attempts at peace talks in Geneva failed to make progress toward ending the two-decade insurgency.
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Saint
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20 Sep 2007 13:07:28 GMT Report for Abuse
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Amazed!
''The ltte is maintaining patience and still restricting itself to a defensive war,''
-s.p. thamilchelvan
He is the political leader of this fake freedom struggle, I guess he is trying to 'act' as a politician here.
After all those bluffing threats and losses he still has something to say.
:-D
Edited By - Saint - 20 Sep 2007 13:20:19 GMT |
ajan
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20 Sep 2007 13:19:56 GMT Report for Abuse
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It is still a defensive war , LTTE have not launched the offensive yet.
LTTE leader is top political and military strategist
Asian Human Rights Commission - Statement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AS-229-2007
September 20, 2007
A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission
SRI LANKA: Will the Human Rights Council pull Sri Lanka out of its state of lawlessness?
At the United Nations Human Rights Council several European Union countries attempted to assist Sri Lanka out of its present serious crisis by suggesting human rights monitoring by the United Nations to buttress the local mechanisms of law enforcement, which have suffered a serious collapse. While the Sri Lankan government, for reasons which are difficult to comprehend, resisted this move the countryâ??s law and order situation was manifestly degenerating for the worst. This degeneration was starkly demonstrated in an incident in which the Minister of Labour, Dr. Mervyn Silva and President Mahinda Rajapakse himself were exposed by the media for trying to subvert the due process of the law regarding an incident in which the Ministerâ??s son is alleged have pistol whipped a person, causing serious injuries.
The allegations made in the media was that the minister attempted to influence the Mt. Livinia Magistrate to allow bail for his son despite the fact that he is facing charges of a non-bailable nature. There are several reports in the Sri Lankan media that when the Magistrate refused to comply, a group of goonâ??s, allegedly employed by the minister, forced their way into the home of the magistrateâ??s mother and instructed the lady to tell her daughter to grant bail.
What this incident reveals is that even in a simple investigation into a criminal charge regarding a private individual, political muscle can be used to frustrate the normal functioning of the criminal justice system. If this is the case with what should be a simple, straight forward investigation, it is safe to assume that the pressures exerted in investigations into more serious matters such as abductions, forced disappearances, extrajudicial killings and other forms of gross abuses of human rights, will be considerably heaveir.
The conclusion of the third report of the International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP), issued on September 18, 2007 would come as no surprise to anyone who is familiar with the present circumstances in the country and who could afford to speak honestly on these matters. The IIGEP wrote as follows:
'Conclusion: Taking into account the areas of concern identified in this public statement, the IIGEP concludes that the investigation and inquiry process to date fails to comply effectively with international norms and standards. The IIGEP calls upon the Commission of Inquiry the Presidential Commission of Inquiry to Investigate and Inquire into Alleged Serious Violations of Human Rights and the Government of Sri Lanka, in order to achieve the objectives of the Commissionâ??s mandate, to take urgent steps to remedy these concerns.'
The Asian Human Rights Commission has repeatedly stated that the Sri Lankan government is neither willing nor capable of seriously and competently investigating gross abuses of human rights. As shown, in most instances the government agencies are not even capable of investigating even ordinary crimes. Under these circumstances the most sensible course for the Sri Lankan government is to work out a formula for the involvement of UN human rights monitors, thereby winning also the good will of the local community as well as the international community, to deal with the catastrophic situation it now faces. The local community, which has completely lost faith in their governmentâ??s capacity to bolster the administration of justice, may be encouraged by a genuine attempt to find assistance, in order to overcome the present deadlock relating to criminal investigations and prosecutions.
The Asian Human Rights Commission urges the Human Rights Council to look into the extremely grave situation that Sri Lanka is facing and, as a first move for assisting the government to deal with this problem, take steps to send a human rights monitoring mission to the country.
he Asian Human Rights Commission urges the Human Rights Council to look into the extremely grave situation that Sri Lanka is facing and, as a first move for assisting the government to deal with this problem, take steps to send a human rights monitoring mission to the country.
Edited By - ajan - 20 Sep 2007 13:26:38 GMT |
udithame
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20 Sep 2007 13:21:29 GMT Report for Abuse
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| Big mouths spreading this type of words ..befor their fight was for a land called peelam now it turn for defensive..Tjis reflects the present loss of great lamb force of peelam... |
Thambi
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20 Sep 2007 13:21:53 GMT Report for Abuse
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'The government has been forced to commit to enormous defence expenditure at a time when the economy is taking a beating.
'The biggest question is whether the Sri Lankan economy can sustain the war effort for three years. They are buying it on credit, so we are fighting today and for generations to come we will have to be paying. |
vinivida
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20 Sep 2007 13:22:20 GMT Report for Abuse
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The bombing of the underground bunker near Puthukkudiyiruppu, in the rebel-controlled area of northern Sri Lanka, dealt a major blow to the Tigers ability to fight off the military, said air force spokesman Group Capt. Ajantha Silva.
The bombing set off a series of secondary blasts as the ammunition in the bunker exploded, he said.
Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan could not immediately be reached for comment.
Who wants these spokespersons in this hour?
Send in our formidable warriors, brigades, air force, sea tigers, black panthers and fight the sinhalaa SDLF... and create the Elaam... We can do it.
I gave $8000.00 this year alone to finance our great Elaam War IV... and have to do three jobs... just to survive...
I want to my Elaam... preferably in this life.
If you cannot do it give the job to Pottu... Or give me back money... you m-f*****g Velu. |
ColomboDude
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20 Sep 2007 13:23:56 GMT Report for Abuse
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Losing east, weapons, ships, cadres, momentum ...... ?? sounds very defensive
very soon the wanni banglows will be flatterened too. Tambi Selvam has few days to bark to media.....
CD |
Dauntless
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20 Sep 2007 13:30:06 GMT Report for Abuse
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The government has been forced to commit to enormous defence expenditure at a time when the economy is taking a beating.
'The biggest question is whether the Sri Lankan economy can sustain the war effort for three years. They are buying it on credit, so we are fighting today and for generations to come we will have to be paying.
oh man... peelamists are feeling sympathetic about sorry lanka? :) :)
don't worry buddy... we will be alright :)
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ajan
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20 Sep 2007 13:32:22 GMT Report for Abuse
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Colombo dude , to know our leader .. you need to grow up.
Our leader will prepared to sucrifice a prawn in order to catch the shark |
vinivida
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20 Sep 2007 13:33:01 GMT Report for Abuse
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It is still a defensive war , LTTE have not launched the offensive yet.
LTTE leader is top political and military strategist
Hit the earth, man...
What can LTTE do when these bombing from the Air regularly destroy whatever they have got?
Even Saddam's Iraqi forces had no answer... when the Yankees controlled the skies over Iraq... and brought the battle-hardened Iraqi the forces to the knees.
LTTE can be reduced to nothing by using the Air Power and Navy alone...
The party.... is over.... get ready to go home.
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Dauntless
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20 Sep 2007 13:36:21 GMT Report for Abuse
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Our leader will prepared to sucrifice a prawn in order to catch the shark
especially when the prawn is an insignificant child of somebody else... those prawns have been sacrificed for donkeys years in the name of a fake struggle to keep one sick man in the driving seat...
long live the donkey leader piraba!
can i get a hee haw from all the peelamist donkeys in the forum? |
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