Citing international support for self-rule of peoples elsewhere in the world, the Liberation Tigers this week again called on the international community to support the Tamil people’s demand for self-determination.
Citing the Sri Lankan state’s resumption of brutal military offensives and its intransigence on genuinely sharing power with the Tamils, the island’s largest Tamil party, the Tamil National Alliance, also appealed for international recognition of the Tamils’ demand for self-rule.
Both comments came in statements marking the fifth anniversary of the now frayed 2002 Ceasefire Agreement (CFA).
“The failure of the [Norwegian] peace process despite the international participation [has] deeply frustrated the Tamil people. To their bitter disappointment, the CFA and the internationally facilitated peace process have, as in all previous peace efforts, failed again,” the LTTE said.
The Sri Lankan government’s pursuit of the military option and the widespread human rights violation by its armed forces have “compelled the Tamil people to resume their freedom struggle to realize their right to self - determination and to achieve statehood,” the Tigers said.
Against this backdrop, the LTTE calling for an impartial and constructive role by the international community and criticised their unquestioning support for Sri Lanka’s sovereignty.
“In contrast to current international practice with respect to national conflicts in other parts of the world, the international community’s insistence on a solution that does not infringe on the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka is deeply frustrating for the Tamil people.”
“The denial of the Tamil people’s will is itself a breach of the law of self-determination.”
“The international community has not rejected, for example, the South Sudan Machkos Protocol facilitated by US, UK, Norway and Italy on the basis it is affecting the sovereignty of Sudan.”
“Nor has the international community questioned the Serbia-Montenegro agreement and the recent proposal on the future of Kosovo on the basis these contravene Serbian sovereignty. The Papua New Guinea- Bougainville Agreement that was not opposed by the international community on the basis of safeguarding territorial integrity and sovereignty.”
“In all these cases the peoples concerned have exercised their right to self-determination and sovereignty,” the LTTE said.
Indeed, respect for Sri Lankan sovereignty had not prevented the international community from backing the 2002 Ceasefire Agreement, the LTTE pointed out.
“Unprecedented in peace efforts in the island, the CFA was formulated with the full support of the international community, transcended the parameters of Sri Lanka’s majoritarian constitution.”
The LTTE’s call for international support for the Tamil people was this week echoed by the TNA, which also cited the suffering inflicted by the state armed forces on the Tamils.
“Today, humanitarian and human rights conditions in the Northeast are deteriorating rapidly as the Sri Lankan government puts its trust on a military solution to this political conflict,” the TNA said.
“The Sri Lankan state justifies these atrocities committed by its armed forces in the name of protecting its sovereignty.
“The international community's unreflective insistence on 'a united Sri Lanka' and its unwillingness or failure to take concrete measures to exert pressure on the Sri Lankan state to abandon its aggression in its pursuit of the military option has contributed to rendering the CFA meaningless,” the TNA said.
“In these [past] five years, the Sri Lankan government has utterly failed to alleviate the sufferings of the Tamil people. Neither has it contributed meaningfully to a lasting solution to the national conflict.”
“In the face of the Sri Lankan state’s insistence on pursuing a military solution to the Tamil National question, the Tamil people are appealing to the international community to recognize their struggle for self determination and self-rule.”
Citing the Sri Lankan state’s resumption of brutal military offensives and its intransigence on genuinely sharing power with the Tamils, the island’s largest Tamil party, the Tamil National Alliance, also appealed for international recognition of the Tamils’ demand for self-rule.
Both comments came in statements marking the fifth anniversary of the now frayed 2002 Ceasefire Agreement (CFA).
“The failure of the [Norwegian] peace process despite the international participation [has] deeply frustrated the Tamil people. To their bitter disappointment, the CFA and the internationally facilitated peace process have, as in all previous peace efforts, failed again,” the LTTE said.
The Sri Lankan government’s pursuit of the military option and the widespread human rights violation by its armed forces have “compelled the Tamil people to resume their freedom struggle to realize their right to self - determination and to achieve statehood,” the Tigers said.
Against this backdrop, the LTTE calling for an impartial and constructive role by the international community and criticised their unquestioning support for Sri Lanka’s sovereignty.
“In contrast to current international practice with respect to national conflicts in other parts of the world, the international community’s insistence on a solution that does not infringe on the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka is deeply frustrating for the Tamil people.”
“The denial of the Tamil people’s will is itself a breach of the law of self-determination.”
“The international community has not rejected, for example, the South Sudan Machkos Protocol facilitated by US, UK, Norway and Italy on the basis it is affecting the sovereignty of Sudan.”
“Nor has the international community questioned the Serbia-Montenegro agreement and the recent proposal on the future of Kosovo on the basis these contravene Serbian sovereignty. The Papua New Guinea- Bougainville Agreement that was not opposed by the international community on the basis of safeguarding territorial integrity and sovereignty.”
“In all these cases the peoples concerned have exercised their right to self-determination and sovereignty,” the LTTE said.
Indeed, respect for Sri Lankan sovereignty had not prevented the international community from backing the 2002 Ceasefire Agreement, the LTTE pointed out.
“Unprecedented in peace efforts in the island, the CFA was formulated with the full support of the international community, transcended the parameters of Sri Lanka’s majoritarian constitution.”
The LTTE’s call for international support for the Tamil people was this week echoed by the TNA, which also cited the suffering inflicted by the state armed forces on the Tamils.
“Today, humanitarian and human rights conditions in the Northeast are deteriorating rapidly as the Sri Lankan government puts its trust on a military solution to this political conflict,” the TNA said.
“The Sri Lankan state justifies these atrocities committed by its armed forces in the name of protecting its sovereignty.
“The international community's unreflective insistence on 'a united Sri Lanka' and its unwillingness or failure to take concrete measures to exert pressure on the Sri Lankan state to abandon its aggression in its pursuit of the military option has contributed to rendering the CFA meaningless,” the TNA said.
“In these [past] five years, the Sri Lankan government has utterly failed to alleviate the sufferings of the Tamil people. Neither has it contributed meaningfully to a lasting solution to the national conflict.”
“In the face of the Sri Lankan state’s insistence on pursuing a military solution to the Tamil National question, the Tamil people are appealing to the international community to recognize their struggle for self determination and self-rule.”
