SL Tamils expect India to support their aspirations: LTTE

Colombo, Mar 31 (PTI) Expressing unhappiness over
India's stand on the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka, the LTTE
Tuesday said the Tamil community expects New Delhi to extend
its support to their "national aspirations", even as it
renewed its call for a ceasefire with Colombo.

The Tamil Tigers also refused to lay down arms for
resuming political dialogue with the Sri Lankan government to
resolve the 30-year-old ethnic conflict.

"The Tamil people have never been opposed to the
strategic concerns of India. Furthermore, it has been their
expectation that the Indian government would extend its
support to their national aspirations," LTTE's new head of
International Diplomatic Relations S Pathmanathan said, when
asked by pro-LTTE website TamilNet.com to comment on India's
stand on the issue.

India feels that political package is the ultimate
solution to the ethnic conflict.

He said the Tamils in Sri Lanka were grateful that the
people of Tamil Nadu have expressed so much solidarity with
Eelam Tamils.

"Whenever our people were attacked and killed their
first choice of refuge has been India. Eezham Tamils have
always looked to the people of India and the Government of
India with genuine sympathy," Pathmanathan said, in his first
comments after being appointed to the post last month.

Pathmanathan said the LTTE did not believe war was the
only means to achieve their aspirations and urged the global
community to exert pressure on the Sri Lankan Government to
enter into a ceasefire with them.

"Laying down arms before any political solution is
unrealistic," he said.

"The global community should ensure that adequate food
and medicines are sent into the conflict areas," he said.

Responding to the human-shield accusation, he claimed
that the Tamils in the LTTE-held areas were staying there on
their own.

Pathmathan said these people always chose to move
towards LTTE, even when displaced and having chances to go to
Colombo's side.

"LTTE has a moral responsibility to protect them.
People should not be coerced to leave their place of choice by
denial of food and medicine and by continuously placing them
under shelling," he said.

He accused the Sri Lankan government of "building up a
brutal force" and said the peaceful demands of the Tamils in
the past have always been met with violence of the Sri Lankan
forces.

"It is wrong to assume that the versatile and resilient
LTTE is in a weakened position," Pathmanathan said. PTI TVS
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