“State Terror Needs to End”

Interview with Donald Gnanakone, legal advisor, LTTE Overseas. He is based in the US

Interview with Donald Gnanakone, legal advisor, LTTE Overseas. He is based in the US

Q Representatives of LTTE’s international relations division are denying Prabhakaran’s death. What is your view?

A The leader of the LTTE is “alive and well” according to Selvarajah Pathmanathan, the leader of LTTE Overseas. This was published on TamilNet less than six hours prior to the Singhala Buddhist President Rajapaksa’s address to parliament claiming victory against the LTTE in the military battle.
Since this is a war without witnesses by design, the world has to only believe the lies propagated by the army and Sri Lankan government who have denied using heavy artillery and aerial bombardment on Tamil civilians and refugees. Thousands are severely injured and dying without medicines and lack of any civilised facilities deliberately denied to Tamils. We Tamils in the diaspora have worked hard in bringing out the plight of unarmed civilians in the Vanni. And we welcome the EU/UK foreign ministers’ call for investigation of war crimes.

Q You have been quoted in Tamil publications as having said that there should be unification of views among Tamils and the Tamil diaspora. Can you explain this statement?

A I have said many times that the Tamil liberation struggle and the rights to self-determination and homeland will continue regardless of whether the LTTE has the capabilities of conventional warfare. As Mr Sampanthan, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader, said two days ago, the Tamil struggle began before the LTTE was formed and will not end with the end of the LTTE as a conventional armed organisation. If there is going to be a long- or short-term peace, the current LTTE, or their supporters and TNA should be engaged in serious negotiations with India, the Tokyo Co-Chairs, the international community, UN and Sri Lanka. There is too much innocent Tamil blood on the hands of this regime, and Tamils or the Tamil diaspora would not engage in any kind of reconciliation with the Sinhala government. All blatant discrimination and state [sponsored] terror needs to end, and the international media and NGOs should be allowed to operate in the north east. Foreign aid should reach Tamils, which has either been denied for 61 years or stolen by Colombo, like in the recent Tsunami aid episode.

Donald GnanakoneLTTESri Lanka