LTTE rejects govt8217;s devolution package

The interim council is a crucial element in the package through which the main Sinhalese-dominated parties hope to devolve powers to the Tamil minority.

But without the LTTE8217;s involvement, the exercise stands little chance of success. Balasingham said the proposals did not tackle the question of nationhood8217; and self determination.8217;

He said the Tamil Tigers were consolidating themselves on the territory gained so far in Operation Unceasing Waves, and will resume the offensive after the evacuation of civilians from the battle zones.

Balasingham, who was based in Jaffna during the years the LTTE controlled the peninsula, is usually seen as a main negotiator for the organisation. Many observers believe he is the key LTTE leader with whom Norwegian peace-brokers deal.

quot;The LTTE will not accept this package because it has nothing substantial to form the foundation for a permanent solution to the Tamil national question,quot; he said. Balasingham said the constitutional reforms saught to promote the majoritarian interests8221; of the Sinhalese.

He said the LTTE had rejected the package when it was unveiled in 1995 as it failed to meet Tamil aspirations.

In a bid to reach consesnus the PA and the UNP had diluted even the 1997 version.

quot;Having sucked the blood and flesh out of the original package, a skeleton now remains as the final draft,quot; he said.

On the interim council proposal and the Government precondition that the LTTE should give up arms if it wanted to join the set up, Balasingham said, quot;I think the government is living in a fool8217;s paradise.quot;

quot;The LTTE controls more than seventy percent of the landmass of the Tamil homeland. We are also confident that we will take control of the Jaffna peninsula in the near future,quot; he said.

The LTTE already runs a defacto state, he said adding: quot;We are not that stupid to seek a few seats in a temporary administrative set up renouncing our people8217;s only means of defence, that is arms.quot; He said the US 100 million credit facility announced by New Delhi was not a humanitarian gesture, but will indirectly help Sri Lanka8217;s war-effort.

quot;It is the Tamil people in the North, dying without food and medicine, who urgently need humanitarian assistance. Yet this pathetic human tragedy has not touched the spirituality or conscience of India.quot; He said he understood the US and the Indian compulsions8217; to stress on a solution maintaining the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka. They were doing this to get both sides on the negotiating table, he said.

He dismissed claims that the Tamil Tiger advance had been halted by the new weapons bought by the Sri Lankan military. The LTTE operations had been suspended to evacuate civilians trapped in Chavakachcheri battle zones.

He blamed the military of indiscriminate bombing, and said the induction of the multi-barrel rocket launnchers by the army was the primary cause of civiian casualities. quot;Our fighters are familiar with this weapon system. We ourselves have been using them against the Sinhala troops,quot; he said.

quot;The government is operating with the misplaced notion that the introduction of new weapons systems will change the course of the war in their favour,quot; he said. And boasted: quot;It is not the weapons that determine the success of a military campaign. It is the will, determination and commitment of the combatants that determines the war.quot;