Thursday, June 30, 2005
LTTE Offers Ultimatum |
I managed to get my hands on a tape of Thamilchelvan's statement to the press today in Kilinochchi. This was the press conference at which he said that the Government of Sri Lanka would have 2 weeks to ensure the safety of LTTE cadre travelling through their area.
The meeting followed a June 26th incident in Welikanda (in Government held areas, a critical entry point to the Batticaloa district) where an explosion rocked a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) bus that was carrying LTTE personnel. No one was seriously hurt as the explosive device detonated away from the bus.
In February this year the LTTE's Eastern leader Kaushalyan was killed in the same area when the vehicle in which he was travelling in was attacked. This incident got a lot of attention because he was in Government held areas without informing the SLA (which they are supposed to do under the Ceasefire Agreement [CFA])
In the case of the 'attack' on the bus, the LTTE had informed the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) of their movement and it had been the SLMM who had made the arrangements with the SLA.
Moving beyond the facts and what we know, my personal opinion is that the LTTE are very serious.
But what about? That seems to be the question.
The 'ultimatum' they issues says that if the SLA does not assure protection for their people while in Government held areas then they are going to provide armed escorts to their people. Under the CFA armed LTTE cadre cannot enter SLA controlled areas. So if they insist that they must travel with their own armed escort then they're just going to have to sit on their asses in Kilinochchi and chill out. No more travelling through Government held areas. They have also threatened to restrict the activities of SLA soldiers through LTTE held areas. But this is really no big deal. There are hardly any SLA soldiers moving through LTTE held areas.
I don't really think this is going to have a big impact on the CFA. Yes, there will be LTTE troop movement in and out of and through Government held areas, while SLA troops will not be able to enter LTTE areas. They'll just have to deal with that.
Let's look at things practically. How is the SLA going to ensure the safety of LTTE troops travelling through their areas? Are they going to put seatbelts on all the seats on the busses? Are they going to sweep the roads for bugs and mines before the bus comes through?
Really, what Thamilchelvam and the LTTE should be asking for is a complete end to the violence.
But making the statement today Thamilchelvam looked very serious. He looked like he was quite mad. Either he really meant it or he'd been taking acting classes since we last saw him.
Right now, everyone is hoping this does not turn out like 95.
The meeting followed a June 26th incident in Welikanda (in Government held areas, a critical entry point to the Batticaloa district) where an explosion rocked a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) bus that was carrying LTTE personnel. No one was seriously hurt as the explosive device detonated away from the bus.
In February this year the LTTE's Eastern leader Kaushalyan was killed in the same area when the vehicle in which he was travelling in was attacked. This incident got a lot of attention because he was in Government held areas without informing the SLA (which they are supposed to do under the Ceasefire Agreement [CFA])
In the case of the 'attack' on the bus, the LTTE had informed the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) of their movement and it had been the SLMM who had made the arrangements with the SLA.
Moving beyond the facts and what we know, my personal opinion is that the LTTE are very serious.
But what about? That seems to be the question.
The 'ultimatum' they issues says that if the SLA does not assure protection for their people while in Government held areas then they are going to provide armed escorts to their people. Under the CFA armed LTTE cadre cannot enter SLA controlled areas. So if they insist that they must travel with their own armed escort then they're just going to have to sit on their asses in Kilinochchi and chill out. No more travelling through Government held areas. They have also threatened to restrict the activities of SLA soldiers through LTTE held areas. But this is really no big deal. There are hardly any SLA soldiers moving through LTTE held areas.
I don't really think this is going to have a big impact on the CFA. Yes, there will be LTTE troop movement in and out of and through Government held areas, while SLA troops will not be able to enter LTTE areas. They'll just have to deal with that.
Let's look at things practically. How is the SLA going to ensure the safety of LTTE troops travelling through their areas? Are they going to put seatbelts on all the seats on the busses? Are they going to sweep the roads for bugs and mines before the bus comes through?
Really, what Thamilchelvam and the LTTE should be asking for is a complete end to the violence.
But making the statement today Thamilchelvam looked very serious. He looked like he was quite mad. Either he really meant it or he'd been taking acting classes since we last saw him.
Right now, everyone is hoping this does not turn out like 95.
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"... no one in the country openly backs them. Not even within the Tamil community." Is that true? I find that a little hard to believe. |
er..i was referring to this: "No one in the country openly backs them. Not even within the Tamil community." |
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