By Walter Jayawardhana

The Democratic Tamil National Alliance led by the Tamil United Liberation Front accused the LTTE proxy party Tamil National Alliance (TNA) of keeping mum when the LTTE forcibly took away 8000 students for military training after they sat for the GCE Ordinary level examination.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Sangaree in a statement said , “Some of them are now dead and others are under detention by the Government. Where are the children and grand-children of the TNA MPs.? Will the TNA at least now tell the world as to what happened to the students at Sencholai.”

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The Democratic Tamil National Alliance will not touch the proxy party of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) even with a barge pole says a statement issued by the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) leader V. Ananda Sangaree, thoroughly rejecting their suggestion that they wanted to make an alliance with the Democratic Tamil National Alliance for the forthcoming Jaffna Municipal Council elections. .

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Calling the remnant of the LTTE as the first and the worst enemy of the Tamil people Sangaree in a statement issued on behalf of the TULF and DTNA said, “They should take full responsibility, among many other matters, for the loss of several thousands of lives and for causing injuries for many more.”

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Accusing the LTTE proxy party TNA for the loss of thousands of lives the LTTE used as a human shield Sangaree said the proxy party failed to tell the LTTE to let the poor Tamils go anywhere they liked and prevent 8000 students who sat for the GCE Ordinary level exam being dragged away for military training .

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The following is the full text of the statement issued by Sangaree:

“Democratic Tamil National Alliance considers the TNA, as the first and the worst enemy of the Tamil People. They should take full responsibility, among many other matters, for the loss of several thousands of lives and for causing injuries for many more. One in ten in the IDP camps has some deformity. Many have become widows, widowers and orphans. The kith and kin of some are either dead or still missing. Almost all have lost all their belongings such as house-hold goods, Lories, Vans, Tractors, Trailers, Three-Wheelers, Motor-Cars, Motor-Cycles, their dairy farms, their poultry and their poor children lost their studies. All have become paupers now. They will find hardly anything left when they return to their homes one day. All these or atleast 90 % of these could have been saved and total displacement could have been avoided if only the TNA had the forethought to advise the LTTE to release the people from their grip, to go anywhere they liked. The TNA is blamed for this because, when everyone, every organization, every country, the EU, the UN etc. had made this request specifically, only the TNA kept on asking for the war to stop. When the 8000 students who sat for the G.C.E(O/L) exam were taken away for compulsory training by the LTTE the TNA kept mum. Some of them are now dead and others are under detention by the Government. Where are the children and grand-children of the TNA MPs. Will the TNA atleast now tell the world as to what happened to the students at Sencholai.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ “Who are these gentleman of the TNA now wanting to form an alliance with the DTNA. They are the people whom the LTTE elected to represent them in parliament fraudulently and it is they who unashamedly claimed the LTTE as the sole representatives of the people. The LTTE is no more and hence they do not need any representation in Parliament. Under the Present circumstances the most honourable action the TNA can take or must do is to quit parliament without clinging on to that office. Neither the PLOTE nor the EPRLF(Pathmanabha) gave any indication to Mr. Srikantha who met me by appointment and the other two by accident. As for me I will not touch the TNA even with a “pole”. The dead, the injured and those living in the IDP camps deprived of all their rights will not pardon us if we have any deal with them. The TNA should not under-estimate our alliance partners who cannot be bought over with a mayor-ship or with any membership in Parliament as they sold themselves in April 2004.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ “For five years I fought a lone battle, amidst threat to my life, unbearable humiliations etc. I was also christened as a “traitor”. I now feel exonerated. Let the souls of the dead haunting our homes bless me and not curse me.”

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ V. Anandasangaree, has signed the statement as President – TULF & Secretary – DTNA