Sihala Urumaya leader,Thilak Karunaratne MP, in a letter addressed to Foreign Affairs Minister Laksman Kadirgamar, has highly commended the recent statements made by the minister on the LTTE unilateral declaration of ceasefire.

"It is certainly heartening to note that, you as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, have refused to cow-down to the demands of the LTTE. It is our fervent hope that both you and the government remain committed to a military victory against the LTTE" states Mr. Karunaratne in his letter of January 17, addressed to the minister.

The Sihala Urumaya leader states that he and his party is appreciative of the efforts made by the foreign missions of Sri Lanka to counter LTTE propaganda during Minister Kadirgamar’s tenure of office. "But we hasten to add that a lot more has to be done in order to create an awareness of the correct situation amongst the so called "International Community" which is just a "hide" in which the former colonial masters and their allies lie wait to trap the poor third world countries" Mr. Karunaratne states.

" We are more than willing to assist your ministry as well as Sri Lanka’s Missions abroad in the matter of countering LTTE propaganda. Please feel free to contact us should you need any information that you could use in this regard" Mr. Karunaratne says in conclusion.

The Sihala Urumaya leader’s letter is reproduced below in full:

"This is to express our sincere appreciation of the recent statements you made with respect to the so-called unilateral declaration of a cease-fire by the LTTE.

As you are well aware cease-fires have only served to give the LTTE the time needed to re-organise, re-group and re-equip and commence fresh operations against our heroic security forces. During such "cessation of hostilities" the LTTE collected funds, amassed weapons and became a more dangerous adversary. When such cease-fires ended (always on account of the unilateral abrogation by the LTTE) large numbers of our valiant armed forces personnel as well as innocent civilians succumbed to the brutality of the LTTE. The LTTE has been consistent in their statements with respect to the fact that they view all negotiations, talks, cease-fires with one objective in mind, i.e.to achieve their ultimate goal of Tamil Eelam.In this context it is certainly heartening to note that you as the Minister of Foreign Affairs has refused to cow-down to the demands of the LTTE. It is our fervent hope that both you and the government remain committed to a military victory against the LTTE.

We would like to take this opportunity to point out that the LTTE is engaged in a two pronged attack on our country and its sovereignty. Apart from its military engagements the LTTE has made vast inroads on the propaganda front. For many years their propaganda machine has been working overtime to disseminate the myth of Eelam all over the world. It is sad to note that the efforts taken by the government to confront and defeat the LTTE on this most important ideological war has been sparse and poorly co-ordinated. We are of course appreciative of the efforts made by our Missions abroad during your tenure of office as Foreign Minister to counter the LTTE propaganda but hasten to add that lot more has to be done to create an awareness on the correct situation amongst the so-called "International Community" which is just a "hide" in which the former colonial masters and their allies lie in wait to trap the poor third world countries.

We wish to state that the Sihala Urumaya is prepared to assist your efforts to the fullest extent of capabilities. We have collected a vast volume of material both of the atrocities committed by the LTTE and the deliberate distortion of our country’s history and its heritage the Eelam Lobby has been producing both within and outside Sri Lanka

We enclose herewith two books put out by the National Movement Against Terrorism (NMAT) a constituent organisation of the Sihala Urumaya, viz."Strips of Tiger" (The English version of "Koti Vinivideema") and "The Gonagala Massacres by the LTTE"

We are more than willing to assist your ministry as well as Sri Lanka’s Missions abroad in the matter of countering LTTE propaganda. Please feel free to contact us should you need any information that you could use in this regard.