THAMILSELVAN SAYS THAT THEY WOULD MAKE USE OF GENEVA TO DO PROPAGANDA AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT OF SRILANKA

By Walter Jayawardhana

S. P. Thamilchelvan, the head of the political section of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam said they would use the Geneva talks to expose the “atrocities of the Government of Sri Lanka” at the Geneva talks scheduled to be held in Switzerland on October 28 and 29.

Telling the media that their intention of making use of their talks for their propaganda against the Sri Lanka government S. P. Thamilchelvan said they were only going there since they wanted to respect the co-chairs of Sri Lanka’s aid giving consortium.

Thamilchelvam’s statement was recorded just moments before the LTTE delegation got into the Sri Lanka Air Force helicopter at Kilinochchi and broadcast by the BBC’s Sandeshaya later.
Thamilchelvan said they did not have any agenda about what was to be discussed at the Geneva peace talks but only expressed their desire to do propaganda, making use of the talks as a platform for them to address a wider world audience.

Thamilselvan was accompanied by S. Pulidevan, the head of the LTTE peace secretariat, Rasiah Ilantheriyan LTTE military spokesman , LTTE police chief S. Nadesan, Thamilinee and Selvi with Hans Brattskar, the Norwegian Ambassador in Sri Lanka.

The helicopter reportedly arrived in Colombo, and the government accepted to transport them to Colombo by pressure brought on the Sri Lanka government by the Norwegian Embassy. Reports from Kilinochchi said they got into the helicopter in a heavy storm.

Interviewed by the BBC Sandeshaya . Sri Lanka government’s Defense spokesman and cabinet Minister Keheliya Rambukwella was asked whether it was proper for the government to provide transport to a group it calls a terrorist group.

Rambukwella told the Sandeshaya that it was not proper to tell that the government was trying to appease the terrorist group by providing the transport. He said the government wants to take up some problems faced by the Tamil people at the talks and the government refuses to accept the LTTE as the sole representative of the people.

But instead, Rambukwella pointed out that the talks provides the LTTE to change over to a democratic process and mainstream of the country instead the violence it practices to fight for its political aims. He said the government also wanted to prevent a lame excuse by the LTTE to prevent peace talks.

Rambukwella pointed out it was only a day ago a MOU was signed with the country’s opposition and they had agreed to send representatives to the all party committee. So it was too early to predict about their participation in the peace talks since there was no such proposal.

He said 2735 have been killed since December in conflicts and the number did not include those who were killed at Muhamalai and Digampathana.