Charge Balasingham for glorifying suicide bombers: EPRLF

COLOMBO: Anton Balasingham should be charged for glorifying suicide bombers and issuing death threats from London, said EPRLF-P General Secretary T. Sritharan.

"It is shocking to know that he has the audacity to demand the dismantling of all the democratic political parties and the international community including the Norwegian facilitators are silent on it," he said in a statement yesterday.

The EPRLF also expressed its vehement objection to the reference made to the EPRLF by Balasingham in his opening address at the peace talks in Geneva on February 22, 2006, labelling it as a 'paramilitary group'.

"We further note with deep revulsion a document published by the Sunday Leader, purported to have been submitted by the LTTE, in which two of the leaders of the EPRLF are shown as 'paramilitaries'. This false and despicable method adopted by the LTTE is a blatant attempt by it to tarnish all the Tamil parties that are not supportive of its nefarious and undemocratic activities to establish hegemony," Sritharan said.

The statement added: "The EPRLF is a political party that has been functioning among the Tamil people for over 25 years and is engaged in the struggle for the attainment of a just and lasting solution to realise the political aspirations of the Tamil speaking people of Sri Lanka within the framework of a united Sri Lanka.

Following the Indo-Sri Lanka accord and accepting it as a viable interim political solution, we voluntarily disarmed ourselves and continued our political work among the people.

The history of the LTTE is that it has been always bent on annihilating by violent means any individual or political party that is opposed to its fascist designs on the people of the North-East masquerading as liberators.

We were 'banned' by the LTTE in 1986 and were threatened not to engage in political work in the North-East. Despite the unleashing of terror, intimidation and killings of our political leaders, members and activists, EPRLF has been actively engaged in political work for more than 25 years.

It was elected as the majority party in the North-East Provincial Government. It had elected members in Parliament, two of whom were assassinated by the LTTE. Its members have been elected to Local Government bodies as well. We have contested every General Election since 1994.

Even now, we have the support of a substantial number of the peace loving people of the North-East which we can establish if a free and fair election that is devoid of any violence or intimidation by the LTTE is held under international supervision in the Tamil speaking areas.

Effectively, what the LTTE wants is for the EPRLF not to engage in any political work and its attempt to brand us as a 'paramilitary group' is its design to get an open licence to continue the spree of killing of all political opponents. They are seeking the assistance of the Government and the international community to act as their enforcing agency to implement their ban.

The silence of the Sri Lankan delegation and the Norwegian facilitators in not exposing the diabolical designs of the LTTE is an affront to the democratic values and the human rights.

It is indeed a paradox that the LTTE, which is a banned organisation in several countries including UK, USA, India, Australia and Malaysia and which has two of its leaders, Pirabaharan and Pottu Amman wanted by the interpol in connection with numerous murders, drug trafficking and other serious crimes was allowed to make such a demand.

In the name of democratic values, human rights and permanent peace in Sri Lanka, we fervently request the Government, the Norwegian facilitators and the Co-Chairs of the peace process to urgently put a stop to the continuing oppression of the alternative Tamil opinion and the appeasement of the LTTE. We appeal to them to prevent the devious designs of the LTTE to annihilate the Tamil political leaders."