TULF President whole heartedly condemns heinous LTTE crimes

COLOMBO: Tamil United Liberation Front leader V. Anandasangaree while condemning the Kebithigollewa landmine blast as a most barbaric act by the LTTE, expressed his deepest sympathies to the members of the victims families. The TULF President's message further reads:

"I strongly condemn the massacre of 65 innocent civilians in the most barbaric manner at Kebithigollewa by a claymore attack. I express my deepest sympathies to the members of the victims families. I find no words to express my grief at this great loss.

I wonder how these people could make up their minds to commit these heinous crimes, after sending their own wives and children abroad for higher education. There is no doubt that it is the work of the LTTE, although they had disowned liability for this incident.

For the two claymore attacks on the same day in Jaffna they may put the blame on the "Infuriated" civilians who are God-fearing and law abiding citizens.

Their most recent advisers in Oslo were Siva Pasupathy, one time Attorney General and V. Uruthira Kumar, a Lawyer based in America and a son of an Ex. Mayor of Jaffna of the TULF.

I do not for a moment suggest that this claymore mine attack took place on their advice. My question is what business has a Bramin, a total vegetarian, in a butchery. Both countries Australia and America, where these gentlemen are living happily, with their kith and kin and playing cricket with their grandchildren, had banned the LTTE in their territories.

I am not suggesting anything to these two countries that I respect for many reasons including the proscription of the LTTE in their countries.

Can these two gentlemen be permitted to bring dishonour to the countries that had trusted them and conferred citizenship on them. A Malaysian Tamil Professor I understand had been requested to resign from his Professorship of the University where he was serving as penalty for going abroad to advice the LTTE earlier.

The LTTE's intensions are obvious. They are all out to provoke the Sinhalese by this type of horrid activities, to start communal riots, through which they think that they can win back the sympathy of the International Community. It was the LTTE that was responsible for riots of July, 1983 in which most well to do Tamils became paupers.

Thousands of Tamils were killed and billions worth of their property looted or destroyed. However the lives of hundreds of thousands of Tamils were saved by the Sinhalese. The local hoodlums were mainly responsible for this unfortunate riots. The International Community is now aware of the LTTE's tactics and cannot be hoodwinked by them.

The Sinhalese too know about this and in spite of several attempts of the LTTE to provoke a communal riot, the Sinhalese did not retaliate. Thousands of Tamils had left their native places and had moved to the South to live with the Sinhalese where they feel free and more secured, and also enjoy all the rights like the Sinhalese.

Everyone in this country whether they are Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims or of any other ethnic group should consider themselves as one in the family of the victims, feel for what had happened and be alert to prevent a similar incident taking place in any part of the country.

I join the President in his appeal to the people to act with calm and restraint at this critical juncture.

I wish to add that we, whichever ethnic groups we may belong to should treat ourselves as children of the same family feeling for each other and sharing each others grief."