Unrestricted access to LTTE has resulted in random killings- Sangaree

COLOMBO: TULF President V. Anandasangaree has lamented the current obsession with the Ceasefire Agreement when the focus should be on the sufferings of the people under LTTE rule with no signs of redemption.

In a letter to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Anandasangaree observed that the random killings of civilians and members of the Armed forces was the result of the LTTE being allowed unrestricted access to any part of the country through the provisions of the CFA.

He said: I regret to bring to your notice the pathetic plight of the people living behind the iron curtain of the LTTE.

Everyone is only worried of the Ceasefire Agreement and its implementation. No one seems to bother about the sufferings of those people who undergo untold hardships under the LTTE rule with no hopes of redemption for very many years. The CFA had given legitimacy to the LTTE to rule them since February 22, 2002. One reason for the LTTE to drag on without taking the talks seriously is to solidify their position in the areas under their control.

Apart from those who live in the uncleared areas, the Provisions in the CFA enabled the LTTE to come into the areas under the control of the Government. You find them all over the country without any control or restrictions. That is the reason for the random killings of the civilians and forces.

If the LTTE can't honour the provisions of the CFA the most honourable thing for them to do is to withdraw from the Government controlled areas to their areas. If they don't do so on their own they should be told that killing people, planting of claymore mines, throwing hand grenades and killing and injuring soldiers and Police men are no work related to politics because they are allowed into the Government areas to do only political work and not to kill.

Contrary to Thamilselvan's claim that those who harm the Army, Navy, and Police personnel are the LTTE cadre and not the innocent civilians. They plant a claymore mine or throw a hand grenade and take to their heels and the soldiers penalise the innocent people on the road. They are arrested and detained by DO from the Defence Secretary.

Since the Tamils of the North and East have no proper representation and the TNA Members of Parliament only talk on behalf of the LTTE and not about the people. I have to make representations to you being the one who came first in the Jaffna electoral district at the last free and fair election held on the December 5, 2001 by obtaining 36,000 votes. The reports of all the five Election Monitoring teams and the conduct of the TNA Members of Parliament representing the North and East, strongly support my claim.

The arrest and detention of large number of Tamils should be reviewed without delay. Those who can provide worthy guarantors to take charge of them should be handed over to the person who undertakes to take charge of them. I know the pathetic plight of a person well-known to me arrested the day before Thaipongal following a shooting incident. Hearing shots fired he rushed to the road to look for his children who had gone for tuition.

He had been arrested and detained under a false charge and still detained. I needless to say that arrests at random and unjustifiable detention will only help the LTTE to escalate their anti Government propaganda and strengthen their claim.

The International Community too cannot be happy seeing innocent people harassed and detained. Hence please take immediate steps to screen those arrested and release the innocent ones immediately, the letter said.