The UNP yesterday disputed the government’s claim of having finished the war against the LTTE, as its leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and other senior figures were still at large.

Assistant Secretary of the UNP, Jayalath Jayawardena MP, addressing a news conference in Colombo, said that the Mahinda Rajapaksa government boasts of having won the war, but it has yet to capture Prabhakaran dead or alive .

"Velupillai Prabhakaran and senior LTTE leaders such as Soosai and Pottu Amman are said to be in Puttumatalan, but the Defence Ministry has announced that it has stopped the use of heavy weapons and air raids. So, does this mean the war is over or a ceasefire has been declared? A state of confusion prevails and the government owes the people sensible answers and not its usual rhetoric."

He alleged that the Rajapaksa government’s change of strategy was prompted by a death fast launched by South Indian Chief Minister C.M. Karunanidhi, demanding that the Sri Lankan security forces stop the use heavy weapons and combat aircraft against the LTTE.

The government is in total disarray and has been forced to swallow its own words, after having criticised the UNP of being pro LTTE, Jayawardena said. "They do not know how to handle the current situation, after having invited the Tamil civilians in Puttumatalan to come over to Vavuniya and Mannar. There are nearly 200,000 internally displaced persons in the refugee camps, but the government is unable to look after them."

The UNP, he said has a history of helping innocent Tamils in distress and has offered to assist them once again, but the Defence Ministry continues to refuse permission, despite the refugee camps being overcrowded and the Vavuniya hospital and mortuary unable to cope with the increasing number of injured and dead.

"Sri Lanka is said to be a parliamentary democracy, but the UNP which is the single largest political party in the country is prevented from helping its fellow citizens. However, foreign dignitaries are taken on guided tours, which do not reveal the real situation."

Jayawardena said that President Rajapaksa has referred to the Tamils as his brothers and sister, but by his skewed logic, the UNP’ers becomes traitors when they try to help internally displaced Tamils.