S.Lankan Rebels Warn of Severe Consequences if Opposition Not Voted For

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, November 30, 2001

S.Lankan Rebels Warn of Severe Consequences if Opposition Not Voted For

Sri Lankan separatist Tamil Tiger rebels have warned severe consequences if the voters fail to cast their ballots for the main opposition United National Party ( UNP) on the December 5 parliamentary elections, the official Daily News said on Friday.

The paper quoted The Tamil Guardian as saying in its editorial that the UNP pragmatically emphasized the need to halt the long- running ethnic war despite its right wing heritage while the " Sinhala supremacists" led by ruling People's Alliance (PA) of President Chandrika Kumaratunga are extending the alluring promise of military victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ( LTTE).

The LTTE warned that the island will face severe consequences if the voters fail to select a Sinhala leadership which favors for negotiated settlement to the country's 18-year ethnic conflict.

"On December 5 the Sinhala people will empower their leadership to either seek lasting peace with the Tamils or to wage unrelenting war against them. Once that decision becomes clear, the Tamil leadership will, no doubt, respond appropriately," the editorial said.

On Tuesday, LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran said in his Heroes Day speech that he wants to settle the ethnic conflict by peaceful means but insisted that the ban on it must be lifted before any negotiations can start.

The government said on Thursday that the LTTE leader's statement is a ploy to fool international community to get the ban on the organization lifted.

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