LTTE creating artificial food shortage in Jaffna

COLOMBO: The LTTE has deprived the right to life of the civilians whom they use as a human shield by creating an artificial food shortage in the Jaffna peninsula.

While the Government has taken steps to send lorry loads of goods sufficient to meet almost one month's requirement of the Jaffna population, acting on the orders of the LTTE, traders have put up shutters creating a situation where the LTTE could mobilise the people against the Government, on the basis that it is the government that deprived them their essentials.

However, while the goods are not available in the markets and stalls, they appear elsewhere on pavements and the people are compelled to pay high prices as the goods are sold at exorbitant prices with the tacit connivance of the LTTE.

Questions have been raised that if no food is available and there is a shortage, from where the food find its way to the pavements of Jaffna to be sold at a high price.

The People of Jaffna are made to suffer food scarcities by the closure of the A - 9 route.

But before the closure, there was ample food. The food shortage was created by the LTTE by refusing to allow food lorries to reach Jaffna.

When the Government wanted to send food to Jaffna via sea, using ships the LTTE informed the Government that it could not guarantee the safety of the food vessels. Due to this situation the companies were reluctant to hire their ships.

When the Government decided as an alternative to send the food by road via Pooneryn the LTTE objected to this move, which resulted in food not reaching Jaffna.The Government was ready to send enough stocks of essential food items to Jaffna via the A 9 and around 400 lorry loads of goods were ready to leave for the peninsula.

However, the LTTE failed to give the green light.

The facilitators and the SLMM are silent.

If the LTTE allowed the transport of these lorries to Jaffna, the authorities claim that stocks would have been sufficient to feed the civilians for a month. It is to the credit of the Government that the bold stand taken by it to send food in six ships on a daily basis has ensured enough food to the people of Jaffna at a reasonable price.

It is crystal clear that the LTTE is responsible for the food -shortage they created and not the Government which has ensured the food is delivered to the populous.