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DESPITE THE 10,000 ADDITIONAL TROOPS RECRUITED DURING LAST YEAR THAMILSELVAN SAYS NOTHING TO CELEBRATE ABOUT CEASEFIRE
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles February 23,08:48 AM:The political section head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), S. Thamil Selvan addressing in Tamil over the Voice of Tamils radio service said that there was nothing for them to celebrate about the first anniversary of the ceasefire agreement. The Sri Lanka government had earlier announced that the first anniversary of the ceasefire between Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe would be celebrated both in the North and the South jointly by the government and the LTTE. In snubbing the statement of the Ranil Wickremesinghe government Thamil Selvan also said the government would have had something to celebrate about the first anniversary but there was nothing for the Tamils to celebrate since their aspirations had not been achieved by the ceasefire agreement. But according to an earlier statement of the LTTE’s Chief negotiator Anton Balasingham the army of soldiers of the LTTE during the past year had been increased from 6000 to 17,000 during the year of the ceasefire. Sri Lanka’s opposition has accused the Ranil Wickremesinghe government that the LTTE was able to recruit the additional 10,000 during this period using the leniency shown by the government under the ceasefire agreement. The opposition has also said many shiploads of arms had been smuggled into the country to arm those additional troops under the same leniency. So, according to them the LTTE had strong reasons to celebrate even secretly since they were the most benefited. But Thamil Selvan in his VOT radio broadcast said there was no strong reason for them to celebrate about the ceasefire. The Sri Lanka government was only able to celebrate the first anniversary in some Tamil schools in the Eastern province. Lighting lamps. Having parades and reading peace declarations were some of the features the government was able to organize in some of the Tamil schools in the Eastern province. Instead the LTTE front organizations announced a hartal in Batticaloa and a hartal in Jaffna until 10 a.m.on February 22. They also announced they would wear black ribbons on the anniversary day. The LTTE also announced that the terrorists of the organization who were still held in Batticaloa and Kalutara jails for the most serious heinous acts would perform a one day hunger strike in protest on the ceasefire anniversary day. (23/02/03 go2lanka.com) |