Prabha vows to carry on struggle

Less than 24 hours after paying tribute to the LTTE’s slain political head S. P. Thamilsevlan, rebel leader Velupillai Prabhkaran had crisis talks with his ‘field commanders’ last night and vowed to carry forward their ‘liberation struggle’. LTTE spokesman Irasiah Ilanthirayan told The Sunday Times last night the LTTE leadership discussed new security measures in the wake of Friday’s air strike that killed Mr. Thamilselvan.

Mr. Prabhakaran in a statement issued last night said that despite repeated and continuous calls from the international community to find a peaceful solution to the Tamil national question, they had “not seen any goodwill from the Sinhala nation”. “We do not see the Buddhist universal love. The Sinhala nation did not open its heart and send a peace message. On the contrary, it is sending war-vultures that are dropping giant bombs. It has cruelly killed our peace dove,” he declared.

Meanwhile, Mr. Illanthriyan told The Sunday Times the killing of Mr. Thamilselvan would not go unanswered. “We won’t talk much, but we will show it in our actions,” he said.“Whatever little hopes we had about resuming the negotiations have been shattered by the gruesome killing,” the LTTE’s military spokesman said. Meanwhile the Air Force said yesterday it had bombed an LTTE arms storage facility in an area west of Puthukudirippu in Mullaitivu.