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The Chief negotiator of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Anton Balasingham has lodged the terrorist group’s strongest protest against the verdict of the Sri Lankan High Court in Colombo, sentencing the leader of the Tamil terrorist group Velupillai Prabhakaran to 200 years of rigorous imprisonment. In full contempt of the court’s verdict the chief negotiator of the Tamil Tigers called the judgment of the criminal court “a ridiculous one at this particular juncture of the peace process.” He was quoted by the BBC’s Sinhala language service, the Sandeshaya as saying the verdict of the High Court of sentencing Prabhakaran to 200 years, for ordering the suicide bombing of the island nations Central Bank killing more than 76 people and causing a damage of 550 million Rupees, was a meaningless effort. He said they could also call the attacks of the Sri Lanka government as war crimes. Anton Balasingham making the statement at the Rose Garden Holiday Resort near Bangkok where direct talks between the Ranil Wickremesinghe Administration in Colombo and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was taking place told the press that they were very much hurt by hearing the verdict and the government should not underestimate the cordiality so far shown by the LTTE. He said he had lodged a strong protest about the verdict to the Sri Lanka government delegation led by Minister G.L.Peiris. The Sri Lanka government delegation reportedly told him that the court’s verdict was not a policy statement of the government and it was only a verdict by an independent court of law. Immediately after the verdict was passed in Colombo the Sri Lanka government delegation head G.L.Peiris said the court’s verdict would not affect the negotiations the Ranil Wickremesinghe administration was having with the terrorist group in Bangkok at that time. “We cant see how the court decision,” said Peiris, “will affect the peace process. Obviously we will not comment on the judgment itself. We don’t think the judgment will affect the talks.” The Colombo High Court Judge Sarath Ambepitiya , October 31, found the Supremo of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam together with three others guilty masterminding a January 31 1996 suicide bombing of the country’s Central Bank in the heart of Colombo. He said some participants of the attack had confessed that Velupillai Prabhakaran ordered the terrorist attack and he had presented a plaque to them in appreciation of their effort before the attack took place at a dinner in which he took part. The judge said Velupillai Prabhakaran’s finger prints were found on the plaque. The judge said Velupillai Prabhakaran’s guilt had been proved beyond any reasonable doubt in this crime. Selliah Navratnam, kandiah Ganesh, and Ramiah Pardeepan were the other master minders sentenced with him. Another accused Kadirgamar Thambi Sivakumaran was sentenced to a life imprisonment . Vigneshwaran Pardeepan, another accused who was found ill at the time of the judgment would be sentenced November 6 the court said.(EOM) (02/11/02 go2lanka.com) |