International Tamil Conference Reports to  Public Meeting in London

Newsline Report, 4 May 1988

CONFERENCE CALLS FOR INTERNATIONAL
RECOGNITION OF LTTE

Almost a thousand Tamils attended a public meeting on May 2 to hear a report from the International Tamil Conference which was held in London on April 30 and May 1, 1988. Tamil delegates from more than 15 countries where they have been forced to flee, attended this historic conference which resolved that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam should be recognised as the leaders of the liberation struggle. The meeting was entitled Tamil Nationalism and the International Tamil Community.

Provoked

Mr.P.Nedumaran, Leader of Kamraj Congress, described the oppression of the Tamil population of Sri Lanka. "This conflict was started in self- defence and it has become a war. The Sri Lankan Government has provoked it and maintained it for over 40 years of continual suppression, denying education and employment opportunities, not recognising their language and culture and community to be of any significance. They have systematically colonised the Tamil traditional land so that they would not have a claim to their land. The Indo-Sri Lankan pact has failed. Not a single Tamil refugee has been allowed back to his homeland to settle, which was one of the main demands. After the pact, the boys surrendered some of their arms, but they L id laid a trap. The Indian and Sri Lankan armies went out to search and kill members of the LTTE"

Nedumaran pointed out that the British Keeny Meeny services and the Israeli Mossad are still providing training and support for the Sri Lankan armed forces. He made an appeal to all Tamils to unite behind the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabaeharan, as the only leader of the Tamil people and he asked the expatriate community of the world to help.

Mr.Aladi Aruna, a Tamil MP from Tamil Nadu, paid tribute to the Tamil fighters' determination and willingness to sacrifice." Two thousand liberation fighters face more than 100,000 in the Indian army. It is unbelievable the way they keep them at bay. They are far superior." He supported the demand for Tamil Eelam to be an independent sovereign state. "The Tamils represent one of the oldest civilisations and yet they don't have a country. They had a language and culture before recorded history." He condemned the pact as hollow and aimed at killing the revolution, which was a criminal thing to do. He explained that there is no democracy in India, where the prime minister can topple a state minister without even giving reasons.

Establish the right to live

Mr.A.P.Venkateswaran, a former Foreign Secretary of India said that the conference had been useful for learning about the facts of what was happening in Sri Lanka and he hoped that there would be many more conferences, especially for the people of Tamil Nadu. Condemning the Indian Peace Keeping Force he said, "During the last seven months more Tamils have been killed than in the last four years. Never before in history has an accord been signed where one government has gone into another country which sits back, while they do the dirty work for the host country. Tamils are the oldest inhabitants of the sub-continent. May be we should have more rights, certainly we should have equal rights. Today Tamils are fighting back against centuries of oppression. It is  supported the demand for Tamil Eelam to be an independent sovereign state. "The Tamils represent one of the oldest civilisations and yet they don't have a country. They had a language and culture before recorded history." He condemned the pact as hollow and aimed at killing the revolution, which was a criminal thing to do. He explained that there is no democracy in India, where the prime minister can topple a state minister without even giving reasons.