UN not protecting Tamil lives: LTTE

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam has charged the United Nations with not taking effective measures to protect the life of Tamil civilians fleeing the rebel held areas and denied killing the innocent people.

"We are deeply sad and puzzled with the attitude of the apex institution of humanity, the United Nations, in not taking effective measures to protect the life, security and interests of innocent Tamil civilians," said the LTTE's political head, B Nadesan.

"Instead, the UN is engaged in fruitless exercises of accusing the wrong side, without coming and seeing what is happening by themselves," he said.

"When stopping the war is the need of the hour, allowing it and lamenting civilian sufferings is a faulty policy," Nadesan said.

The UN in a statement had said the LTTE continues to actively prevent people leaving, and reports indicate that a growing number of people trying to leave have been shot and sometimes killed.

In an apparent reference towards the world body, Nadesan said indicting the defensive LTTE and exploiting the plight of civilians for the agenda of those who are waging the war will not bring in any positive results.

"The ongoing war is the cause for all evils and human sufferings about which all sane human beings are concerned of," the LTTE leader said adding therefore the war has to be stopped immediately, paving the way for negotiations.

"The LTTE has not started the war and is always prepared for negotiations," Nadesan said.

"The international agencies and world governments, concerned about the plight of civilians, should therefore prevail upon the Sri Lankan government to stop the war," Nadesan said.

"Unfortunately, the international community is adopting an ironical line of allowing the war and at the same time worrying about the plight of the civilians," Nadesan told the Pro-LTTE website Tamilnet.

"The Colombo government verbally says that their war is against the LTTE, but in truth it is fighting a war for complete Tamil subjugation," he said adding "the LTTE has to respond defensively to protect Tamil interests."

"The policy of double standards of justifying Colombo's war and worrying about civilian casualties is fundamentally flawed," the leader said.

"The UN should work hard to change this faulty equation, which will only help to ensure human life, dignity and assertion of human rights, not only in the conflict zone, but in the entire island," Nadesan said.