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| Sunday, 31 October 2004 |
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Tamils want liberation from LTTE by Anura Maitipe The Muslim and Tamil community in the Eastern province live under constant fear of the LTTE for torture, abduction and killing of people for not adhering to their command and non payment of ransom to the LTTE. During our recent visit to these areas it was revealed that people in the Eastern province are still panicky.Each and every person is supposed to pay ransom to the LTTE. The LTTE charge money from people under the pretext of collecting taxes. In the event of failure to pay the LTTE punishes the people Natives in Kathankudi, Kalmunai and Chenkaladi told the Sunday Observer. Former school Principal Siddik Lebbe who lives at Kalmunai south said "most people in the eastern province live on agriculture, fisheries and animal husbandry. The Muslims lived along with the Tamil and Sinhalese in all parts of the eastern province prior to the war. However people lived in Kenneth farm, Dollar farm, Kathankudi and Chenkaladi moved away from those villages after the massacre of people by the LTTE in 1980. Following the ceasefire agreement between the government and the LTTE many of us returned to our ancestral homes and now we do paddy cultivation in our own lands and others engage in fishing and animal husbandry. The LTTE charge Rs. 1,000 per acre of paddy and Rs. 500 from each fishing boat per day. It is very unfair because on the one hand we pay taxes to the government and on the other hand we have to pay ransom to the LTTE too. M. Hidaya, a house wife who lives at Kathankudi said, we are living in fear and the LTTE keeps on harassing us. A few weeks ago my husband was abducted along with two other Muslim men when they were collecting fire wood in the jungle. And later they were released after paying Rs 15000 to the LTTE. A Tamil lady who lives at Chenkaladi and did not want to disclose her name said it was not only Muslims even Tamil people lived in fear of the LTTE. This situation was further aggravated after creating Karuna's fraction. The LTTE abducts our children and are killing those who supports Karuna, she said. She further added, that the majority of people hate the LTTE but they keep quiet as they have no alternative. We cannot oppose them openly We would like to live in peace along with Muslim and Sinhalese people but the LTTE do not allow us to live in peace. R. Tahngadorai who lives at Kalmunai South said, I have been involved in fishing for the last four decades, at the time of war fishing was restricted in certain areas but now there are no such restrictions and we are free to catch in our waters. The biggest problem faced by the fishing community in the east is unfair taxes enforced by the LTTE. Each and every boatman has to pay Rs 500 to 2000 per day. The Tamil community wants liberation from the LTTE now, he said. |
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