Vigneshvaran killing triggered violence: TNA

The TNA yesterday claimed the killing of Tamil People’s Forum leader Vanniasingham Vigneswaran in Trincomalee recently had triggered the present escalation of violence in the country .

The Tamil legislators who vowed to boycott the next two sittings, staged a six hour Sathyagraha outside the Parliament complex yesterday, after boycotting proceedings, against the killing of Tamil civilians allegedly by security forces in the North-East recently.

Addressing a news conference in the Parliament complex after the Sathyagraha, TNA MP Suresh Premachandran said Mr. Vigneswaran’s assassination triggered the present tension in the country which eventually led to the bomb attack on the Army Commander.

Mr. Premachandran’s viewpoint came in response to a query about the LTTE’s responsibility in resuming peace talks with the government without killing military personnel and civilians continuously. Asked whether the present chaos could have been avoided if not for the murder of Mr. Vigneswaran, he said, “definitely.”

He claimed the Karuna faction had no place in the peace process as it was not a political entity accepted by Tamils, but just a military group operating with the government’s assistance.

He said that the LTTE had signed the Ceasefire Agreement with the government to start peace talks, and Tamils had given a mandate for it even at the recent local government polls in Tamil majority areas.

Commenting on the possibility of resuming peace talks, he said the government should first stop ‘extrajudicial’ killings and disarm paramilitary groups as agreed at the Geneva talks in February, this year.

He also stressed the need to make suitable transport arrangements for LTTE eastern leaders to go to Wanni as a pre-requisite for talks.

Party General Secretary Mavai Senadiraja charged that 105 Tamil civilians had been killed after the Geneva talks while 20 people were killed in the aerial bomb attacks targeting LTTE locations in Sampur.

He said that according to the UN Human Rights Watch and the SLMM, Tamil and Muslim civilians had been killed in the air bombardment-Daily Mirror

Majority want Mahinda made Party President

CBK’s okay sought to amend SLFP Constitution

SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena has written to former President Chandrika Kumaratunga, now abroad, seeking her agreement to introduce an amendment, to the SLFP Constitution, empowering the Central Committee to appoint President Mahinda Rajapakse as the party President, a senior SLFP official told ‘The Island’ yesterday (9).

The draft amendment to the party Constitution has been drawn up due to pressure on the Central Committee exerted by the party membership including senior party men who want President Rajapakse appointed party president, the official said.

After the election of President Mahinda Rajapakse as acting President of the party most frontline members of the party as well as the grassroots level SLFP members and branch officials have been urging the senior party men and party’s Members of Parliament to elect President Rajapakse as the party president but due to constraints in the SLFP Constitution it could not be done while the former President Chandrika Kumaratunga was still holding that position in the party, a senior member of the SLFP said yesterday.

The SLFP Central Committee is now awaiting a response from Mrs. Kumaratunga to adopt the amendment to the party Constitution. It is also learnt that almost an absolute majority in the Central Committee also are of the view that President Rajapakse should be appointed party president, the party official said.-Island By Wijitha Nakkavita

Task Force to bring normalcy to Sampur

On the orders of President Mahinda Rajapakse, a Task Force has been set-up to bring back normalcy to Sampur area where community life was disrupted due to recent attacks and Rear Admiral Mohan Wijewickrema was appointed as its Chairman while S. B. Divaratna, Additional Secretary to the Treasury and K. A. Leelaratna, GA Trincomalee were appointed as members.

The committee held a number of discussions, on matters relating to the funeral expenses of deceased.

In addition instructions were issued to G. A. Trincomalee District to provide compensation in respect of the private property damaged by the attacks after obtaining the necessary estimates and to supply the needed food stuffs to those who were displaced and affected due to the recent attack.

Meanwhile, Secretary of North East Provincial Council was empowered to reconstruct public property that was damaged completely and partially by the attacks using Council Funds.-Island