TULF backs LTTE 'freedom struggle'

By Nirupama Subramanian

COLOMBO, OCT. 29. In a significant development, the main Tamil political party in Sri Lanka, the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), has said it supports the ``freedom struggle'' being waged by the LTTE.

The party general secretary, Mr. R. Sampanthan, articulated the position on Sunday at a meeting in the eastern town of Trincomalee, where he is a candidate in the December 5 general election.

This is the first time the party, said to represent Sri Lanka's moderate Tamils, has adopted this line after distancing itself from Tamil militancy in the 80s.

It is likely to raise a storm of accusations against the TULF, its alliance of four Tamil parties and against the United National Party (UNP), for which this alliance had declared its support, especially after today's incident in which an LTTE suicide bomber blew himself up, killing two others.

``The time has now come for all Tamil political forces in the north-east to unite under one banner to give full support for the militants, who are involved in the freedom struggle,'' Mr. Sampanthan was quoted as saying on the TamilNet website.

Justifying the LTTE's armed struggle, he said it had not been launched hastily, but after efforts by moderate Tamil leaders like S.J.V. Chelvanayakam to secure the just rights of the Tamil people had failed.

The TULF leader later told The Hinduthat Tamil political parties had been tricked by successive Governments that pretended to put forward political solutions, diluted and finally withdrawn them or never implemented them. ``We cannot go on like this. We want our political freedom. If this cannot be brought about within a united Sri Lanka, we want the total restoration of our sovereignty''.

He said the next Government should begin peace talks with the LTTE and offer a political solution that would give the Tamils ``full autonomy'' to manage their own affairs, or separation would become ``inevitable''.

Mr. Sampanthan's remarks came days after the alliance of four Tamil parties - the TULF, the TELO, the ACTC and the EPRLF (Suresh) - signed an agreement nominating the LTTE as the sole representative authorised to negotiate on behalf of the Tamil people with the Sri Lankan Government.

The alliance has adopted a stridently pro-LTTE line hoping to tap popular Tamil sentiment during the coming elections. It will also afford the politicians an ease of movement in terrain where the LTTE has easy access to them, at least during the elections.

The alliance has said it will back the opposition United National Party, which has promised a ceasefire and immediate peace talks with the LTTE, if voted to power.

Though the Government too has offered a ceasefire and peace talks to the LTTE, the ruling People's Alliance (PA) said the links between the Tamil alliance and the UNP pointed to a ``secret understanding'' between the UNP and the LTTE.

The UNP leader, Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe, dismissed the allegations as election propaganda. At a press conference on Sunday, he said the UNP's stand on peace talks was no different from that of the PA.

But Mr. Wickremesinghe might find it difficult to justify to the majority Sinhala electorate, the UNP's connections with a Tamil party that has openly identified itself with the LTTE militancy.

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Section  : International
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