Give up demand for separation, Sangaree tells LTTE

TULF leader V. Anandasangaree yesterday urged LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran to give up his demand for separation and negotiate with the Government and to leave the Tamil people alone.

In a letter to Prabhakaran, Anandasangaree said the People and the International Community are not at all satisfied with his conduct. "You are losing your creditability day by day.

They do not approve your causing the death of several thousands of our people Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and people of other ethnic groups and the destruction of billions and billions worth of property. Over thirty thousand widows and thousands of orphans had been created. Thousands had lost their eye sights and limbs.

Over twenty thousand Tamil youths of both sexes and double that number of youths from the Sinhala and Muslim Communities had been sacrificed in the battle field, all of whom came from very poor Sinhalese Tamil and Muslim families," he added.

Excerpts from the letter: Even at this eleventh hour I once again appeal to you to give-up your un-achievable demand for separation. There was a time the International Community took you seriously and made available many facilities for you and your cadre.

Now you are so fully exposed that they don't believe your canards. You talk of Human Rights violations and abductions, in cleared areas. But the whole world knows that such things take place more in your areas. I hope you will not deny this.

Let me deal with your claim that you have withdrawn from the East as a part of your strategy. It is foolish on your part to say so and to expect that the others will believe it.

The whole world knows that your back bone was broken with the defection of your Eastern Commander Karuna and also that it had a big impact on the North, which you are now holding with an uncertain future.

It is foolish not to expect the Government forces to take the best advantage of the prevailing situation. Please take it for granted that the East is lost for ever and re-capturing same is only a day-dream. The local people in the East will not extend their support to you any more.

They are happy that they had been liberated from your subjugation, in spite of the fact that they had virtually lost almost everything that belonged to them and that they have to start from the scrap.

They are happy that they have now been freed and can move about freely to re-establish themselves.

Most of the houses there are either destroyed fully or partly and whether it is due to your shelling or due to the shelling and bombing by the forces, it is you who should take the full blame for it. Because it were you who invited the army into the villages by attacking them from among the civilians, virtually using the civilians as human shields. You have irresponsibly sown land-mines all over, causing immense hardships for the civilians some of whom had lost their lives and limbs due to the land mines.

The People have tasted the bitterness of your so called freedom struggle, going on for quarter of a century. Before you meet with the same fate in the North also, please change your aggressive mood, tame your cadre and go to the people as a non-violent force, throwing away all your arms.

The moment you stop fighting and give up your arms the Government will have no alternative but to stop fighting. If you have any sympathy for the young men in your cadre who are getting killed in large numbers every day, please call for a cease-fire unilaterally and save the lives of the children of the poor parents, most of whom had been recruited by you compulsorily.

I am surprised at the baseless charges you have leveled against the International Community accusing them of involving in our ethnic issue, with selfish motives. You have also said that you understand their concerns to take forward their interests. This is one of your most ungrateful accusations against the International Community from whom you derived innumerable help. You have got from some of them financial assistance and many others in kind.

The whole world knows how much assistance you got from them and to what extent you humiliated and embarrassed some of them. Can you spell out which country is interested in getting what from you and from this country? This clearly shows the world as to what extent you are frustrated.

The International Community has a moral duty to liberate the people living under your subjugation. My charge against the International Community and the United Nations is that, in spite of my repeated requests for the liberation of the people in areas under your control, they have not taken any action.

The International Community is not expecting compensation for the insults and humiliations they have suffered in your hands and in the hands of some local leaders. All what they want is peace and normalcy back in Sri Lanka. That is all.

You are not the Prabhakaran of the nineteen eighties. You are now a matured person who should be in a position to understand and assess the situation. Please take my advice and give up your demand for separation. Agree for a reasonable solution based on the Indian Model for which the International Community will give you full backing.

Surprisingly you will find a large section of the people of Sri Lanka also supporting you. A ray of hope now appears on the horizon to pull this country out of this muddle. The Government is seriously considering to find a solution to the country's problem but due to the difficulties in finding a 2/3rd majority and going for a referendum to amend the constitution, is proposing to implement the 13th Amendment to the constitution while the deliberations of the APRC will continue till a final solution is arrived at.

I do not suggest that this will meet the aspirations and the grievances of the Tamil speaking minorities. Your giving up the demand for separation will certainly bring a lot of changes in the thinking of every one and will also create a favourable atmosphere to find a reasonable and acceptable solution.

I want you to stop fighting and save the lives of several innocent people on both sides. Please agree to accept the Interim Administration and bring peace to our country and our people.