The leaders of the TULF, TELO, ACTC and a splinter group of the EPRLF who are contesting the forthcoming elections under the banner of TNA appear to be striving to achieve one thing. It is to send the message to the world: "We are contesting this election only to tell you that the LTTE is the sole representative of Tamils".

It looks as if the Tamil political parties that have come under this umbrella had lost their reason for being.

In any event if the avowed purpose of their participation in the forthcoming parliamentary elections is only to act as errand boys of the LTTE, there is no purpose in having their organisations with such grandiose names as Tamil United Liberation Front any longer. For the LTTE is the sole representative of Tamils according to TNA.

At a press conference in Colombo, TNA spokesperson Mr. Sampanthan was questioned about the murder of the TULF, TELO, ACTC and the EPRLF leaders and activities by the LTTE. The response of Mr. Sampanthan was pathetic. He said they had to forget the past and think of the future.

One may ask him whether he has any future at all. It is our past, our history, and our way of life that distinguish us from others. Furthermore, what we do in the future is largely determined by what we have done in the past and are doing at present. How we deal with other human beings in the future is often governed by how we have related to others in the past. Tigers never change their spots.

In fairness to the LTTE, they have not said that they intend to change the way they have operated before. They have not agreed to give back democratic rights to other Tamil organisations.

Every TULF leader who had the guts stand up to the LTTE was killed by them leaving behind a group of puppets to genuflect at the feet of Prabhakaran.

The TELO leader Sabaratnam was killed by the LTTE in the most brutal manner imaginable. This however hasn’t prevented the minions who speak in the name of TELO today from licking the boots of Prabhakaran. Suresh Premachandra takes the cake in trying to portray himself as the true heir of Padmanabha and the EPRLF. In one act of mass murder almost the entire leadership of EPRLF was wiped out by the LTTE in Madras. Padmanabha was a man of great courage and vision. He must be turning in his grave at the sight of Premachandra kneeling before his murderer Prabhakaran.

What has the TNA got in return for their boot-licking? Has it been able to stop the LTTE from forcibly conscripting children as cannon fodder? Has it been able to impress on the LTTE the need to stop extracting heavy taxes from the poor who live in the LTTE controlled areas?

Have these puppet leaders told the LTTE to stop robbing food and medical supplies that are sent from Colombo to the people in the Wanni. Already, the LTTE newspapers have warned these puppets that if they cross the path of the LTTE, they will have to pay a high price.

The bizarre thinking of the TNA leaders runs counter to all democratic values and above all the stand the West has taken on terrorism.

What bugs a democrat is how there could be a sole representative of any group of people? Every national and ethnic group is a conglomeration of different economic, social, cultural and political interests. The essence of democracy and pluralism is that all such groups and interests must have an opportunity to express their needs and concerns.

It is the most tyrannical and fascist movements that have sought to obliterate such differences and impose a totalitarian political regime.

So the very platform of the TNA is retrogressive and a disservice to the Tamil community.

Any decent Tamil politician worth his salt would have stood up to the LTTE and told them that they were wrong.
R. S.
Colombo