 |
|
|
|
| News Stories |
|
|
|
Home Mail2Lanka News Sports World Previous Stories |
TAMIL TIGERS OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCE THAT EPDP SHOULD BE OUSTED FROM JAFFNA TO MAKE THE “PEACE PROCESS” WITH THE GOVT. SUCCEED
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles While increasing violent activities against its rival the Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) by “manipulated mobs” the terrorist group the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) officially announced that it wanted the Tamil political party to be ousted from any political activity from the Jaffna peninsula. The LTTE’s Eastern commander, Karuna told the press after a seven hour meeting of the de-escalation and normalization sub-committee at Muhamalai that the EPDP should go since it was an “undemocratic” party. Jaffna peninsula is under the control of the Sri Lanka government rule and according to the statement of Karuna the terrorist group is determined to have a one-party polity in the area, contrary to the provisions of the Constitution of Sri Lanka that guarantees fundamental rights of citizens to form political parties of their choice. The LTTE and the EPDP are diametrically opposed to each other since the former has been until recently publicly advocating separation of Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri lanka while the latter wanted any solutions of the Tamils strictly within a United Sri Lanka. The LTTE has been following virulent anti-Indian policies while the EPDP is extremely a pro-Indian party. The majority of Tamil political parties united under the coalition, Tamil National Alliance is directed by the LTTE while the EPDP openly refuses to “cow down”. Karuna agued that if powers such as EPDP were allowed in the Tamil areas the whole “peace process” could be muddled. By “peace process” the terrorist group identifies the present political arrangement with Sri Lanka’s ruling United National Front government led by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Immediately before the de-escalation subcommittee meeting took place LTTE mobs, on Friday night, attacked the EPDP office in Atchuweli, police sources in Jaffna said. Army and Police were rushed to the area, the same sources said, but reported no damage to the office building. Police reports said in the early hours of Thursday suspected LTTE activists hurled “petrol bombs” (locally manufactured gasoline filled bottles which explode on impact) at the EPDP office in Valligamam in the Jaffna peninsula. An EPDP office in Batticaloa also has been subjected to a LTTE led mob attack. Bhavn, a spokesman for the local EPDP in Jaffna peninsula said the LTTE organized all the attacks. Meanwhile all suspects arrested in the attack of Nelliady EPDP office have been released on bail by a magistrate. Meanwhile on December 12 Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe held discussions with the LTTE agents, the TNA and the EPDP to solve the controversy. In these discussions the EPDP agreed to withdraw part of their staff from the Delft island . Douglas Devananada said he was ready to do it only as a “goodwill gesture” to the Prime Minister and not because it was right. But he was ready to do it only on the condition that the LTTE stopped its attacks on the EPDP offices. (EOM) (02/12/16 go2lanka.com) |