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Sangaree tells Modi: TNA responsible for LTTE crimes
View(s):The Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) Secretary General V. Anadansangaree in a letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week said the TNA and the ITAK by supporting the activities of the LTTE should take responsibility for innumerable crimes that had resulted in the deaths of thousands.
“Innumerable crimes had been committed resulting in the death of thousands, some of whom were Members of Parliament. According to the TNA’s manifesto of 2004, the TNA and ITAK should accept responsibility for these crimes,” Mr. Anandasangaree said in the letter.
In reference to the TNA’s relationship with the LTTE , Mr. Anandasangaree alleged that ahead of the 2004 Parliamentary elections, representatives of the ITAK, ACTC, TELO and the EPRLF signed a declaration accepting the “leadership of the LTTE as the National Leadership of the Tamil people and also accepting the LTTE as the real sole representatives of the Tamil people.” They also pledged “to give our full support for the struggle the LTTE had undertaken on behalf of the Tamil Nation”.
He said the declaration of the four secretaries of the alliance gave ample opportunities for the LTTE to commit atrocious crimes between April 2004 and May 18, 2009. The TULF General Secretary urged the Indian Prime Minister to consult other Tamil political parties and Tamil-speaking people of Sri Lanka and not exclusively the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).
“Dealing with the Tamil question is no more a monopoly of either the TNA or the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK). Having waited so long by allowing the TNA to deal with our ethnic problem and having lost confidence in the TNA, the time has now come for all the other concerned parties to find an alternative,” V. Anandasangaree said in a letter to Mr. Modi this week.
Mr. Anandasangaree said the TNA was supposed to comprise five political parties — the ITAK, TELO, EPRLF, TULF and the PLOTE – but the delegation which met Modi comprised only four members from the ITAK and one each from the TELO and EPRLF with none from the PLOTE although its leader polled more than 40,000 votes and came third at the recently held Northern Provincial Council elections.
He added that the claim of the TNA that voters had repeatedly given it the mandate through various elections, to negotiate with the Government was not acceptable and misleading. “The 2004 general election was virtually conducted by the LTTE with little or no supervision by the Government. There was large scale impersonation, threats and intimidation of voters by the LTTE and some won after their defeats were announced.”
Mr. Anandasangaree said the Indian Prime Minister’s advice must be taken seriously if the Tamils in Sri Lanka wanted a solution. “Hence action should be taken forthwith to consult various political parties of Tamils and Tamil-speaking people to know their views. The intention of meeting the party leaders is not to confront any one of them including the TNA and the ITAK, who should be warned of their links with the LTTE if they are serious in finding solutions. The sole purpose is to arrive at a consensus and to see to what extent we can compromise,” he said.