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Sri Lanka Navy Sinks LTTE Merchant Vessel in International Waters, Gravest Ceasefire Violation To Da

Excerpts from his address follows;

"The sinking of the LTTE merchant vessel and the killing of eleven LTTE cadres in international waters, yesterday, is the gravest ceasefire violation by the Sri Lanka forces in the last 12 months. The above incident has deeply saddened and shocked the LTTE. We have conveyed our extreme displeasure to the Sri Lanka government and have warned that this grave incident will have far reaching implications for the ongoing peace process. Our legally registered merchant vessel was engaged in commercial activity when it was intercepted by the Sri Lanka Navy deep inside international waters at 220 nautical miles. We were informed of the above event and were aware that the Sri Lanka Navy was attempting to inspect our ship and force it to enter the waters under their jurisdiction."

"Our national leader Mr. Pirapaharan pointed out that the Sri Lanka Navy had no authority to intercept our vessel in international waters and the event constituted a grave violation of the ceasefire agreement. I was instructed to take the matter up with the head of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM). The head of the SLMM, Maj. Gen. Tryggve Tellefsen, observed that the authority of the Sri Lanka Navy does not extend into the international waters and that he would immediately contact the commander of the Sri Lanka Navy and the Sri Lanka government. He assured us that he would prevent any confrontation. I conveyed this assurance to our leader and was waiting to hear a response from the SLMM. An hour after this conversation with the head of SLMM, our Sea-Tiger high command informed us that the Sri Lanka Navy war-ship had attacked our merchant vessel killing all eleven cadres on board and that the ship was now on fire and sinking."

"Over the last 12 months, amidst many challenges, obstacles and multiple acts of provocation by the Sri Lanka security forces we have patiently and steadfastly maintained the ceasefire agreement. The whole world is aware of this. Our people want a peaceful resolution to the ethnic problem and we remain sincerely and strongly committed to the peace process. However, this most recent gross disregard of international law and violation of the ceasefire agreement by the Sri Lanka Navy will have grave consequences for the peace process. Even in the face of this extreme provocation and the loss of eleven of our cadres, we have chosen to remain calm and patient."

"The political situation in Colombo is such that there are two governing centres. The government under Mr. Ranil Wickramasinghe has no real powers to govern. His government has no control of its own naval force which in this instance has gone berserk 220 nautical miles away in international waters. President, Chandrika Kumaranatunge has got the power to control the security forces. We have been dealing with a government with legislative powers whilst real executive power remains with the president. In this context, will Mr. Ranil Wickramasinghe be able to deliver a constitutional change which ensures Tamil self determination in a federal structure? The answer remains a resounding No."

10 March 2003

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