Tiger accusation on EPDP paramilitary a hoax - EPDP

COLOMBO: The local media, particularly the Tamil media, in the last few days has given publicity to the LTTE allegation at the Geneva talks about the paramilitary groups working with SLAF and inter-alia referring to the EPDP also as one amongst them, since it was reported first in the Sunday Leader of March 5, 2006.

To add strength to the LTTE claim, the Tamil media has been citing the recently released Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005' by the US Department of State, the EPDP said yesterday.

While the EPDP categorically denied all such allegations, said it was duty bound to expound the tactics of the LTTE in aspersing such unfounded allegation and compelling the Tamil media to give wide publicity to it.

The EPDP said: "The LTTE, having sacrificed thousands of youths in their blooming age, unable to deliver the promised Eelam to the Tamil people is in a desperate need to divert the attention of their money spinning Godfathers, the expatriate community, who had parted with their hardly earned dollars, pounds and euros in exchange for the pledge to liberate their homeland.

Further, the discontent amongst the Tamil community is in the rise that in the three decades of war, with the LTTE has achieved is that instead of the promised heaven to the Tamil community-Tamil Eelam, they have found heaven for the children of their leaders in the Western world.

To name a few, Prabhakaran, Tamilchelvan, Nadesan and Balakumar have sent their children for higher studies to the West.

The mounting pressure on the LTTE by the International Community over child conscription, political killings and other atrocities against the innocent public has further compounded the dire need for such diversion of attention.

If the LTTE is really interested in solving the problem of the Tamil people, there are a number of issues - ranging from day to day hardship faced by the Tamil people to the political solution to the ethnic problem - they should have taken up for discussion.

A close watch on LTTE chronology of peace negotiations would undoubtedly reveal that they had always taken up issues concerning their military manoeuvre rather than issues related to the aspirations of the Tamil people.

Even the proposal for Interim Administration put forward by them in October 2003, is a document seeking hegemony over the administration of the North-East region and de-facto recognition of the LTTE as the sole representatives of the Tamils. IT was a document seeking recognition and legitimacy for a fascist rule in the North-East Region.

Since signing of the MoU, we the EPDP have time and again brought to the notice of the SLMM, the Norwegian Embassy and other International Community of the atrocities committed by the LTTE against our members.

Many of our important leaders, including democratically elected Chairman and members of local bodies, have been killed cold bloodedly, many have been abducted and presumed killed, hundreds of incidents of attack on our members and offices had taken place. If our members are paramilitary forces, as alleged by the LTTE, they would have defended themselves from such attacks than succumbing to it.

The Ceasefire Agreement and the subsequent obligation by the political parties such as the EPDP, EPRLF and PLOTE to hand over all weapons issued to them by successive Governments for their self-protection from the LTTE, had made it easy for the LTTE to achieve their aim of sole representation by physical annihilation of members and supporters of other political parties.

The LTTE hoped that the withdrawal of weapons would compel these parties to move out of the North-East Province, and create the conditions for them to be the fascist sole representatives of the Tamils. When that did not happen, they started attacking our members and offices.

It is in this context, we would like to review the allegation levelled by the LTTE. In an attempt to justify its allegation, the LTTE has give a list of names as EPDP paramilitary cadres and their handlers in the SLAF.

All the names referred to in the list (except one) are area/district leaders of EPDP. The EPDP has political offices in all state controlled districts of North-East Province, Puttalam and Colombo.

It has 15 offices in Jaffna, one office in Mannar, two offices in Vavuniya, one office in Trincomalee, three offices in Batticaloa and one office in Ampara. It is through these offices, the EPDP carries out its democratic political activities.

Not only public visit these offices daily, even foreign dignitaries, INGOO representatives and journalists visit these offices and meet those people referred to for various discussions and interviews. Some of them were candidates in the Parliamentary and local body elections.

Security to these offices are provided by Police and there is a need for the Army in charge of the respective areas (Navy in case of Islands off Jaffna) to liaise with the Police on security related matters. This cannot be constructed that the EPDP is working with Security Forces as paramilitaries.

Most killings of our members had taken place while they were at home with their families or on their way to their home. Now most of them have moved into our offices, which is protected by the Police with the help of the Security Forces.

The LTTE is making this allegation to distance the Security Forces from the security network provided to our offices, so that they could easily attack our offices and finish their balance task.

Thus, the LTTE's paramilitary allegation is only a tactical move. On the one hand it is trying to divert the attention of the Tamil people, the Tamil expatriate community and the International Community from their main concerns and on the other hand it is trying to weaken the security network provided to the EPDP offices to complete their mission of eliminating all our members.

The Tamil media, shame to call it independent media, has picked one sentence from the report release by the US State Department and has given wide publicity to it to authenticate the LTTE claim, but have suppressed the extensive description of human rights abuses of the LTTE reported therein.

The following excerpts are from the said report:

"the LTTE, a terrorist organisation"

"The LTTE continued to control large sections of the north and east and engaged in politically motivated killings, disappearances, torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, denial of fair public trail, arbitrary interference with privacy, denial of freedom of speech, press, of assembly and association, and the recruitment of child soldiers."

"During the year the LTTE continued to detain civilians, often holding them for ransom."

"There were regular reports that the LTTE expropriated food, fuel, and other items meant for internally displaced persons (IDPs) from both the conflict with the Government and the December 2004 tsunami."

"During the year 18 current and past anti-LTTE Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) members were killed."

"There were also reports of LTTE intimidation of Colombo-based Tamil journalists, and self censorship was common for journalist covering LTTE-controlled areas."

"The LTTE did not allow freedom of association in the areas it controlled and reportedly used coercion to make person attend its rallies."

"During the year the LTTE continued its intimidation and extortion of Muslims in the East."

In conclusion, we wish to again reiterate our position that none of our members are involved with any paramilitary activities and the LTTE accusation on EPDP paramilitary is only a hoax to tarnish the image of the EPDP, which is committed to democracy, pluralism and human rights and a party that is struggling hard for over a decade to reestablish democratic traditions in the North-East.

It is in this process that our party had a number of members elected to Parliament and controlled many local bodies in the North-East province through elected representatives.

The EPDP leader has been elected as a Member of Parliament for the Jaffna Electoral district continuously since 1994 to date.

The LTTE ultimately wants to divert the attention of the International Community from the atrocities and killing committed by them and also it is a pre-emptive move to justify their future killings as well, making it easy for them to achieve their goal of eliminating the EPDP".