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| Sunday, 26 June 2005 |
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Mass support for P-TOMS From the News Desk People from all walks of life yesterday welcomed the signing of the Post Tsunami Operational Management Structure (PTOMS) to provide humanitarian aid to tsunami victims and described it as a stepping stone to find a future durable solution to the North and East problem. They described the Government's ability to get the LTTE to move away from its rigid position on ISGA and accept P-TOMS as a victory. Prof. Kumburugamuwe Vajira Thera said that hardliners played havoc to increase their vote base by launching hunger strikes and street protests against the P-TOMS showing that they were not ready to help people in their misery. He said that the P-TOMS would not affect the territorial integrity of the country though opportunistic political parties were trying to give misleading definitions to various clauses in the P-TOMS. Executive Director of the Setha Sri Lanka Foundation Dumidu Punchihewa said that it was a victory against opportunistic political parties and racists who opposed to give relief to tsunami victims. He said that the majority of Lankans had given their consent to P-TOMS and they would teach a lesson to racial political parties sending them to the political dustbin for ever at future elections. CMU General Secretary Bala Tampoe said that the CMU General Council welcomed the signing of the P-TOMS and said it was a duty of the Government to look after tsunami victims despite protests and hunger strikes of racists. He requests the Government and the LTTE to distribute aid among people fairly and equitably. He urged the LTTE to help Muslim victims as well. Tampoe said that the General Council had decided to send monitoring teams in the future to inquire whether aid was equitably distributed. PAFFEREL Director Kingsley Rodrigo said that P-TOMS was a good foundation for future activities between the Government and the LTTE. He commended President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga's bold decision saying that she has to introduce another mechanism to expedite the resettlement programme in the South. He said that due to the lethargy in the Government institutions building of permanent settlements for tsunami victims had been delayed. Founder member of the JVP Dr. Chandra Fernando said that the JVP showed their true racial colours though they described themselves as marxists. They have no solution to the North and East problem and tried to rouse the feelings of Sinhala Buddhists for another blood bath on the issue of the P-TOMS. Jathika Hela Urumaya MP Uduwe Dhammaloka Thera said Buddhism was a philosophy which taught us kindness,compassion and equality among mankind and all other creatures. It was very unfortunate that some of our bhikkus seem to have deliberately forgotten these noble teachings of the Buddha. The panic created by certain sections of Buddhist monks and people over P-TOMS with protests, fasts unto death would not pave the way for peace. Instead it would further aggravate hate among the Sinhalese and Tamil communities. Dr. Wickramabahu Karunaratne said that the P-TOMS proposal was nothing very complex. Muslims are also given an important place. But their grievance is that they were not allowed to sign the proposal. It's a genuine grievance. Opposition to these proposals is the
continuation of the racist activities of the past. Those who oppose say that
the LTTE should not be taken on board. They are not worried about the
structure of the proposal, he said. |
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