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LTTE Political Delegation meets with Archbishop Desmund Tutu

The Archbishop commenced the meeting with a prayer for tsunami victims and for the success of the peace process. Recalling from experience in the South African context, the Archbishop said that holding on to the cease fire to such a long time as three years clearly demonstrates that the LTTE cares for the people and wished that the parties should endeavor to reach a political settlement early. “If time and health permits, I will visit your people to see for myself their plight”, said the Archbishop, on being invited by Mr.Tamilselvan to visit the Tamil people.

At the outset Mr.Tamilselvan conveyed to the Archbishop the respectful best wishes of the Tamil people and their National Leader Mr.Veluppillai Pirabaharan. Responding to the Archbishop’s interest in the post-tsunami humanitarian delivery situation and the current status of the peace process, Mr.Tamilselvan detailed the various steps taken at the District level to construct temporary shelters to house the tsunami victims, prior to permanent resettlement which Mr.Tamilselvan said, needs international participation and the proposed joint mechanism with the government to become a reality. Drawing a clear line of asymmetry in the tsunami impact for the Tamil people, Mr.Tamilselvan said that the infrastructure devastation and the loss of life due to twenty years of war and a three-year cease fire having not delivered the basic peace dividend, normalcy, has exacerbated the suffering than in any other devastation sites.

The Archbishop conveyed his best wishes and blessings to the delegation to successfully complete its mission and said that he would continue to pray for a peaceful settlement of the ethnic conflict and for the delivery of justice to those it has been denied.

13 April 2005

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