"If the International community fails to act now, in this most needy hour, it would go down in the history of mankind as the most inhumane, unconscionable failure by the International community, the UN and other powers from their responsibilities to protect innocent civilians wherever they may be subjected to genocide," said Selvaraja Pathmanathan, the LTTE plenipotentiary for international relations, in a statement issued Friday. "Consequences of inaction will reverberate for generations. Inaction by the International community will be construed as its approval of this crime against humanity."

Full text of the statement from Mr. Pathmanathan follows:

S. Pathmanathan, Head of LTTE's International Diplomatic Relations"The events that are unfolding in Northern Sri Lanka in the last 2 days will turn out to be one of the darkest chapters of the history of mankind. Despite the warnings from the President of the United States and the countless requests from the European Foreign Ministers, the Sri Lanka Government and its armed forces have unleashed the most horrific attack on the so called safety zone. Having killed nearly 7,000 civilians in the last 3 months the carnage in the last 2 days alone has accounted for nearly 1700 deaths.

"The Tamils of this world are begging the International Community to shed its cloak of indifference and save the hapless Tamil civilians on the brink of extinction at the hands of the barbaric Sri Lankan military and the Government of Sri Lanka. We appeal to your kindness and values. Our kith and kin have been subjected to the most brutal massacre and violence in the last 24 hours with the entire safety zone shrouded in smoke with ongoing shelling and artillery barrage. The dead are littered throughout the area. All contacts with the people have been lost in the last 24 hours. We are not even aware of the numbers alive and the numbers injured. These are people who have committed no crime other than to live in the area.

"The whole world knows what is happening in Sri Lanka, yet, no action has been taken to save the civilian population. If the International community fails to act now, in this most needy hour, it would go down in the history of mankind as the most inhumane, unconscionable failure by the International community, the UN and other powers from their responsibilities to protect innocent civilians wherever they may be subjected to genocide. The Tamil community is in the brink of losing faith at all those who preach democracy, human rights and values yet fail to uphold their beliefs when tested at times like these. This is not the time for political expediency or vengeance. Thousands of people are being slaughtered and the rest about to be annihilated and it may already be too late for action. Consequences of inaction will reverberate for generations. Inaction by the International community will be construed as its approval of this crime against humanity.

"We beg the international community to intervene immediately to save the remaining Tamil civilians from extinction. Immediate intervention and provision of humanitarian aid are the only means to protecting those still alive after the carnage of the last 24 hours."