2009   2008   2007   2006   2005   2004   2003

CFA is the key to peace

Sinhala leaders have always used the peace talks to fool the international community and drag time to prepare for war.

Over the last four years of CFA, LTTE has proved to the international community this opportunistic politics of the Sinhala leaders. LTTE does not need to nor have to prove again to the international community the deceit of the Sinhala leaders. The foundation for peace talks and the political solution has already been laid by the LTTE and the GOSL. That foundation is the CFA. CFA was debated over a long period, modified by both parties, and eventually signed by both parties. It is only by implementing it properly the moves can be made towards the political solution.

Civlian life of the Tami speaking people are in tatters due to the long and devastating war. Even during the CFA period more than 100,000 people, unable to return to their homes, are living in refugee camps.

Homes, places of worship, schools and public buildings have been taken away from the people under the pretext of High Security Zones. The right to livelihood of Tamil fishermen has been taken away by the military. Civilian movements are restricted and military is harassing public. Cordon and search operations are continuing even today.

Over the last six weeks more than 150 Tamils have been killed by the SLA. Approximately half of them have been abducted by the SLA and its paramilitaries. Daily lives of the Tamil people are crushed in this manner by the SLA’s terror.

CFA contains clauses to eliminate such atrocities and bring normalcy to people’s lives. However, the GOSL taking the respite in war to its advantage, failed to implement the CFA even after completing four years today.

Only when the situation deteriorated to the extent that CFA was breaking down completely as a result of the Sinhala leaders disinterest and the SLA’s CFA violations that the GOSL agreed for peace talks in Geneva. At Geneva, LTTE is only prepared to discuss the full and speedy implementation of CFA. Tamil National Leader has emphasised this to the peace envoy and Norwegian minister, Eric Solheim.

LTTE is not prepared to discuss modifications to CFA or to push CFA aside and waste time talking about political solution.

Mahinda Rajapakse’s government has not come forward to stop the atrocities of the SLA and its paramilitaries even after the date for the Geneva talks were fixed. Tamil people continue to express their reservations about peace talks with a government that has taken a hard line against the Tamil people.

Only way to avoid war and create peaceful environment in the Tamil homeland is to implement the CFA in full. The key to peace talks in the present context is the full implementation of the CFA.

Confidence to proceed with peace talks will be created only if the Mahinda government accepts this ground reality.

If Mahinda government rejects this and tries to drag time then, as stated by the Tamil National Leader in his Maveerar Day speech, LTTE has no other alternative but to intensify the struggle in order to win the freedom for the Tamil speaking people.

07 February 2006

Print this

Email this