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Tamil Party: the government must resolve the ethnic problem
by Melani Manel Perera
The restitution of property, the resettlement of IDPs, the release of innocent young people and respect for human rights are the topics discussed at the congress of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF). The party leader V. Anandasari denounced the misconduct of former cadre from the LTTE (Tamil Tigers), today members of Sri Lankan services.
Colombo (AsiaNews) – To return the properties, resettle the displaced, release the innocent young people and respect the inalienable rights of every human being is what the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) is requesting from the government, in the party's last session. Stressing the urgency of finding a solution to the ethnic problem - still unresolved despite the end of the thirty-year war in 2009 - the party said it was "determined to maintain good and cordial relations" with Singhalese, Muslims, Malays, Burghers (Eurasian ethnic group, ed) and any other ethnic or religious group in Sri Lanka.
The TULF - the country's largest Tamil party - has complained that many gold objects, seized by the army during the war or "donated" by force to the coffers of the Tamil Tigers (LTTE), have not yet been returned to the Tamil families. He then recalled that of the 200,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) "only a small part has been resettled, while most have lost everything: husbands, wives, children, in addition to homes and all their possessions".
Party leader V. Anandasari then stressed: "Many young people are still in prison, without having been given any trial, accused of being part of the Tamil rebels. This is the fault of former cadre of the LTTE, who now work with the Sri Lankan services: they provide false information to gain their superiors' favour."
"The TULF", concluded the leader, "urges President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the government to compensate all the victims, as it has promised."