”Japan’s 480 million aid to Sri Lanka government to rehabilitate displaced Tamils will only help the government’s aims to segregate the traditional home lands of the Tamils converting Vanni into a military zone”, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP, Suresh Premachandran told Japanese Ambassador, Yasushi Akashi when the TNA delegation led by Iraa. Sampanthan, TNA parliamentary group’s leader, met the Ambassador Saturday, TNA sources said. Yasushi Akashi, in response said that the Sri Lanka government which was elected by the people of Sri Lanka has pledged to him that the displaced Tamils will be gradually resettled and was told by Iraa. Sampanthan that Sri Lanka government will never keep to its pledge, the sources added.
Gajenthirakumar Ponnambalam, P. Ariyanenthiran, Kanagasabai and Pathmanathan were the other TNA parliamentarins who participated in the meeting with Yasushi Akashi who is on a three day visit to Sri Lanka.
Suresh Premachandran said the following in a press meet after the meeting.
“We told the Japanese Ambassador that Sri Lanka government plans to place the Internally Displaced Tamils held in detention centres permanently in sheds for at least five years and we asked him not to give the aid meant for Tamils rehabilitation to the government as it is certain that the money will be used in the war against the Tamils instead,” Suresh Premachandran said.
“Mr. Sampanthan told the ambassador that Japan need not tell us about the democracy of Sri Lanka when Yasushi Akashi said that he believes that the people elected government will keep its promise to him,” Premachandran said.
“20 media persons including Lasantha Wickremasinghe have been killed since 2006 while many TNA parliamentarians have been assassinated but the government has failed to find the killers. Sri Lanka military intelligence men and the paramilitary groups that operate along with them are the killers. Though we had handed the evidence to the President the killers have not been found,” Sampanthan explained to the ambassador.
“Sri Lanka has not kept its pledge to India that it will not use heavy weaponry in the war but had stepped up attacks with heavy weapons killing 64 patients in Mu’l’livaaikkaal hospital Saturday. More than 7,000 Tamils have been killed in the last 3 months alone. This is the democracy of Sri Lanka,” Sampanthan further said.
“The TNA parliamentarians told the ambassador that they do not believe that the displaced Tamils will be allowed to settle in their own villages and that the relief measures would be dealt fairly. In this context, Japan and other international countries should give their assistance directly to the displaced Tamils instead of the government,” Premachandran said.
“We also reminded the Ambassador Japan, with its horrific war disasters in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, need not to be told about the Tamil people’s pain and grief caused by war,” he added.
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