TNA will have to answer for HR violations - Basil

Chaminda PERERA

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa yesterday said that the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) will have to answer for the human rights violations carried out by the LTTE terrorists, if it participates in the UN Human Rights Council's sessions in Geneva.

Minister Rajapaksa said that the TNA in their election manifestoes in 2001 and 2004 have mentioned that they are the sole representatives of LTTE terrorists who killed thousands of people including the leaders of the Tamil community.

He was addressing a special press conference at the Economic Development Ministry. He said that the government has received reports that relatives of Tamil politicians

who were killed by the LTTE have already left for Geneva and the TNA which represented the LTTE will have to provide an answer to them too.

Minister Rajapaksa said that the government is more concerned on human rights during the course of humanitarian operation. He said that the world knows that the government has been taking a serious effort to promote reconciliation and ethnic harmony. "Thousands of people in the North and the south were disabled due to the LTTE atrocities."

He said that thousands of people were killed by the LTTE by launching various attack on nerve centres of the country including the Central Bank, Dehiwala Railway station and Pettah. "It is not appropriate to rekindle the pangs of war. People were affected by the LTTE carnages at Kattankuddy mosque, Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi in Anuradhapura and Colombo fort. Our people have forgotten all these past and are trying to live in harmony. It is not appropriate to rekindle their pain again.