Sri Lankan conflict far from over: Tamil Advocacy Group

Asking for the right of 'self determination' for the Tamils in Sri Lanka, an advocacy group has said the proclamation of 'victory' over the LTTE is a political blunder that belies the structural roots of the ethnic conflict in the country.

People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL) in a statement cautioned the Sri Lankan Government that the decades old ethnic conflict would be 'far from over' until the fundamental issues of the Tamils are addressed.

"It is highly unlikely that today's announcement by President Rajapakse actually signals the end of Sri Lanka's conflict," PERAL said in a statement, yesterday.

"This conflict is far from over, and if the international community wishes to see decades of violence end in a just peace it must act to acknowledge both the suffering and the rights of the Tamil community," it said.

PEARL urges the international community to look beyond the Lankan government's pronouncements of military victory to the continued suffering of Tamil civilians in internment camps, the statement said. "The most urgent issue now is the plight of these Tamil refugees," said PEARL representative, Arvind Suguness.

World community should push Sri Lanka for an independently-monitored referendum. "Only a referendum can actualise Tamils' right to self-determination and ensure their say in their political future," PEARL said.